Journeyman
by NightWithMoon
Summary: Getting rid of Voldemort was just the beginning for a virtually immortal Master of Death. This is about his struggle recovering from the war and return to society, helping lead humanity beyond Earth's bounds. Crossover with Stargate as well. Will include inspiration gathered from: Limitless, Inception, and Wheel of Time. Also includes non-graphic Slash.
1. Prologue

**This story is very different from Harry potter cannon (only vaguely follows the same lines). It will be a powerful Harry and a twilight crossover, with stargate coming later (though I will make sure to provide the information necessary for those not familiar with the show).**

-October 31st, 1997-

Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore stood side by side atop the astronomy tower staring down and across the savaged grounds of Hogwarts, strewn with the bodies that had not yet been cleared.

"It's done then. He's dead."

"He is indeed dead," Dumbledore replied tiredly.

"Then the bindings are broken."

"That they are," Dumbledore sighed.

"Then I'm leaving."

"I had expected you would." Dumbledore replied, sounding defeated.

Without any more words passing between them, and indeed with only the slightest whispers of sound Harry Potter vanished from the tower, leaving Dumbledore alone.

"Someday Harry I hope you can understand why I did what I did, and I hope that on that day you can find it within yourself to forgive me." Dumbledore spoke to the empty air, already knowing that Harry was long gone. "It would be more than this old man deserves."

- Seven Years Later -

Harry stood alone in the bustling crowd of people on a street of New York City, looking down at the news paper in his hands. It proclaimed rather loudly and excitedly in bold font the heart attack of 'The Great Albus Dumbledore', and the fact that even now it was only magic that was sustaining him. Harry sighed as he looked up into the sky between the skyscrapers, allowing the wind to whip by him and burn his smarting eyes as he stared directly into it. He glanced at the paper once more before striding quickly over to the nearest trashcan and leaving it there; his decision made. He shuffled through the crowd until he reached the opening of a relatively dark and narrow alley, he took only a dozen steps into the darkness before spinning about and making only the briefest of inspections of the passing crowd to be sure he was unobserved as he vanished.

He reappeared in a corner of the Hogwart's Hospital Wing, invisible and with a tight control over his aura so that even Dumbledore would never be able to sense him from more than a couple feet away. The room was empty but for a curtained off section near the back. Harry strode towards it on silent feet only the slightest of hesitation before the curtains betrayed his apprehension. Slipping between them harry stood silently, observing what had become of his mentor these past years. It seemed to him that time had truly and finally caught up to Dumbledore, as his locks of silvery hair had become a dull grey and his creased face had taken on a chalky pallor that served to emphasize his many wrinkles. His breathing was shallow and Harry could tell that, though his eyes were closed, he was awake and likely occluding to suppress the pain. Navigating around the bed harry allowed himself a sigh as he sat in the chair at his bedside and released his invisibility even as he reached out with a tendril of his aura and caressed Dumbledore's own.

Dumbledore sighed, and even without opening his eyes spoke in a wearied and breathy whisper, "I had hoped I would see you again, before the end, my boy. I am glad you found it within yourself to come see me off."

The silence stretched for a moment before Harry spoke, "I may hate you for what you did, but I love you for it too. You took my childhood and much of my choice in life, but in return you gave me a mentor and a friend, and, in the end, you gave me my freedom and the world." Harry could see Dumbledore's emotions swirling beneath the surface, and indeed felt his own do likewise. "I had not been ready to say this, but at this point I know it was only selfishness and fear that held me back. I understood why you did what you did long before I left, and I think I even managed to forgive you then too, but I was too afraid to lose the protection I gained from blaming you to admit it, even to myself. I was too afraid to tell you that I loved you as a father and that I forgave you, because it would mean that I agreed and then I would have been responsible for my own actions, without the excuse of blaming you." Harry sighed, pushing back his own tears even as he watched Dumbledore's flowing down his cheeks from his still closed eyes. Harry stood from the chair and moved so he was standing over Dumbledore's prone form. "Of all the things you gave me, it has always been your trust and love that I have treasured most. Someday, Grandpa, I hope I can join you in your next great adventure, and we can once more stand together." Harry leaned down and kissed Dumbledore's brow moving back to gaze into his now open eyes, which glistened almost merrily even through the sheen of tears.

Dumbledore reached over with shaking hands taking his wrist in one and placing something warm in Harry's palm with the other. "Thank you, my son. I have needed that." A fresh wave of tears escaped his eyes as he released Harry and settled his arms back upon the bed. As Harry gazed down at him, failing at last to stop his own tears from flowing, Dumbledore closed his eyes and breathed out his last.

Carefully wiping away Dumbledore's tears Harry stepped back and glanced down at what Dumbledore had given him. It was the HeartStone, much like a WardStone it was designed as an anchor for a great many spells, HeartStones were special as they were used in medical facilities to anchor spells that are needed to sustain life in those whose bodies or magic could no longer do it for them.

Madame Pomfrey spoke up behind him, he hadn't even noticed she had arrived, "He said you would come; he had faith that you would, even when we doubted it. You were the reason he held on so long." She paused a moment, gathering herself. "It does me good to see you two reconciling, even if it took so many years."


	2. Chapter One

**A/N Alright so this will contain slash (Will be Harry/Seth), also I will be adding stuff from Stargate - though, because it isn't part of the summary and stuff I will be sure to explain everything necessary for those not familiar with the show.**

_-October, 1992-_

"_Tell me, Harry, what is magic?" Dumbledore asked Harry as he sat behind his large desk strewn with knickknacks, doodads, and the occasional official looking piece of paper. _

"_Um… Well magic is sort of like energy that we use to do things we want it to with wands and spells and such." Harry said nervously, not at all sure of his answer. _

"_Hmm, perhaps. What I think is forgotten all too often is the simple and most comprehensive answer that magic is Magical." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling madly above his half-moon spectacles. "The only thing that limits what magic may achieve is your imagination, we mustn't forget that. However, more practically one may view magic as Understanding, Application, and Result. I could say the same thing a thousand different ways with a million different words, but it all comes down to our Understanding of what we are doing and applying our power to bring about a Result based upon that Understanding._

_"What is most important, and, perhaps, terrifying, about this is that that Understanding doesn't necessarily have to be correct. If for instance I Understood that all living things were created from and guided by tiny living things called midichlorians and that interaction with these beings could give me control over my surroundings then I could do so. The only problem is that the more flawed our Understanding the more power it takes to achieve our goal as our power will, quite literally, first make our understanding real in the time and space necessary for our desired result._

_"In the end, this means that anything can be achieved, no matter what, so long as enough power is available. However, more often than not, an incorrect Understanding will require far more power than an individual is capable of supplying, and will thus result in failure."_

_-September 1__st__ 2005-_

Harry breathed out deeply as he opened his eyes and pulled himself from his deep meditation. With a flicker of thought he dispelled the magical alarm. The alarm was actually one of his own creations from early in his apprenticeship with Albus, it was a rather complicated spell that he had anchored to a single rune that would permit the user to set multiple alarms with nothing more than the brush of the finger tips and a thought, the alarm itself actually produced no sound or light of any type, but the most minute of magical disturbances; he had used it to train himself to become aware of such disturbances as the alarm became incredibly _unpleasant_ when ignored.

Standing smoothly and stretching stiff muscles, Harry prepared himself for the day ahead. For so long after the war he had ran and hidden, never staying in any populated place for more than a few days before he would flee back into the wild and his studies. He had felt so sure that if he stayed anywhere around people that things would inevitably go badly, so he had hidden himself and buried himself in magical study of one sort or another, continuing to stretch the bounds that had so often fled before Albus' twinkling form when he had been expounding upon the wonders of magic for Harry.

But now Albus was dead and in the mess of his funeral and will, in which he left Harry a great deal of his journals and books, Harry had been forced to stay around people long enough to confront his cowardice. He had realized just how stupid his fear of being around people had been and he had resolved to himself that, if for no other reason than to make Albus proud, he would not permit himself to flee into isolation again.

So here he was in some small town without a wizarding population to bother him, ready to go to a muggle school and embrace the normality that his aunt had so desired and, for a time, allow his studies to sit by the wayside. Seven years of constant study had continued to expand his understanding of magic and the universe, even if it wasn't in the leaps and bounds he had experienced as a young apprentice in Albus' office all those years ago. However, even for him seven years had been too long; indeed, it had only been the fear of the alternatives that drove him to continue so long. Besides whether he returned to his study one year from now, or one thousand years from now, it didn't matter, after all, Master of Death wasn't an empty title. In fact if what he had discovered and what Albus' journals contained regarding his own discoveries were to be trusted – and they were – then the Hallows made Tom's Horcruxes look like childrens' finger painting next to a masterpiece – in fact there was no soul mangling required at all, more of a soul stretching and expansion. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that; the idea that barring complete and utter physical destruction Harry would be truly immortal and un-aging was a bit daunting. He wasn't foolish enough to pretend to mourn the curse of immortality, truth be told he wasn't close enough to anyone to be truly hurt by their passing, and, if in time, he found someone he didn't want to live without he had little doubt that with the hallows as a template he could figure something out. After all, physical immortality, if nothing else, was easy with magic; it was, in fact, the very delicate balance between mind, body, and soul that so often made immortality complicated, more often than not a botched attempt would merely result in a prolonged insanity until you were put down. Though, if the legends were to be believed, Dementors themselves were once an enclave of wizards who thought they had the answer to immortality and instead managed to trap their souls forever in nearly indestructible bodies that became their prison as the balance that supports life was tipped ever more until shattering; they say a dementor's chilling presence is actually its soul screaming out for mercy, forever trapped in a hellish prison so much worse than even the inmates of Azkaban could possibly imagine. If you believe the legends, that is. Either way, it mattered little as wizards had - for the most part, excluding wild and psychotic individuals like Voldemort - discovered that it was much better to live out one's time and then move on; after all, in the wizarding world there was no uncertainty about death being just another beginning.

He sighed shaking off his thoughts as he grabbed the backpack he had packed the previous night and made his way out into the bitter morning air of Forks, Washington, after all he was going to seize normal with both hands and hang on tight – even if he had to strangle it – and _normally _people who look seventeen would go to high school. _Oh Joy!_

Setting off in the direction of the local High School he had been enrolled in, Harry wondered if he would last the week before giving this idea up for the idiocy it was. He still wasn't exactly certain what his logic had been when he decided that the best way to confront his fear of people was total immersion, but then again, he wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing.

Harry sighed again, the glamour was itching; if there was one thing that really, truly bugged him about the Hallows was that when he had united them they had somehow bound themselves to his magic and soul, and in the cloaks case, to his very body. Meaning that he couldn't allow either the Resurrection Stone or the Elder Wand more than a few feet from his body at any time, if he did, either on purpose or on accident, he would find himself instinctively reaching out for them – he was actually pretty sure that if he ever threw either the wand or stone over a cliff, that he would find himself diving after them before he could consciously think about it. While it was annoying, it was also tolerable, as it wasn't too terribly difficult to wear a ring or have his wand sealed to his arm; no it was the cloak that was so annoying, when it had bonded with him it had somehow sealed to his skin, leaving his skin with the faintest of silver sheens along with rather artful swirls and runes in darker, clearer silver – it was actually rather interesting and, dare he say it, pretty. He could have probably explained it off as exotic tattoo's, if it wasn't for the fact that the swirls and runes liked to, well, swirl and change; they didn't do so very quickly, especially in non-magical areas, but they were distinctive and if he intended to stay around people for any extended period of time then he had to conceal them. Hence the glamour, which registered to his overly tuned magical senses as a constant tingling at the back of his mind and across his skin, that _Itched!_

Harry choked off another sigh – had been doing it far too much this morning already – as the school came into view and the urge to scratch only intensified. First thing he was doing when he got home tonight was going to be designing a new glamour that wasn't so bloody annoying. Readjusting the strap to his backpack as he squared his shoulders Harry marched towards the school determinedly.

Pulling out the schedule he had gotten the previous week Harry fully intended to slip into the crowd of other students and find his way to his classes on the first day of the year, and hopefully avoid as much unneeded attention as possible in the other students excitement, or dread – whichever the case may be – at returning for another year of schooling. It seemed an endeavor doomed to fail as many people fell silent with curious looks upon first sighting Harry, before quickly turning to their friends and continuing in hushed hurried tones that, along with the sidelong looks, just screamed Gossip_!_ Harry determinedly ignored it looking from building sign to building sign looking for the great big number three that should mark the building for his first English class.

-oOo-

Harry stormed through his front door slamming it shut and throwing the deadbolt along with his pack, just barely choking back a frustrated scream. Vampires. He had counted no less than five _bloody_ _vampires_ in the school. What were vampires doing going to muggle school? In fact, what were vampires doing not being their normal slimy selves holing up in caves and old castles bleeding people dry of their blood and money? This was supposed to be his _normal_ school. He was supposed to try to get to know people and reacquaint himself with the whole socializing concept in a nice, normal, safe, _NON-magical_ environment. And those stupid, _bloody_ vampires were completely ruining his plan.

Taking deep breaths to calm himself Harry acknowledged and controlled his frustration, fear, and anger and gently pushed them to the side, clearing his mind. He also stopped flaring his aura which had only partially been unintentional. It seemed he had a great deal more work to get done tonight than he had thought; not only would he have to alter the wards he had set up around the house, but he would also have to work particularly hard on that glamour charm if he wanted to hold any hope of remaining unnoticed by the vampires. The normal glamour charms didn't bother with the small details that are normally beyond a person's ability to distinguish, but then vampires eyesight is far superior to a normal person's and it would be fairly obvious to them that something was wrong with someone who had no visible imperfections or fine texturing to their skin. Scrubbing his face tiredly with one hand Harry set off to his study, even if the idea of having his own study did make him feel old he had eventually given up on his insistence to doing all his work on a couch before a fire.

-oOo-

"So what is it? Why have you called a family meeting?" Carlisle asked his children.

"There is a new student in school, new to the town as well, according to gossip, and whatever he is, he isn't human." Edward spoke up. "I can't read his mind, Alice couldn't and can't See him, Jasper couldn't feel him, and his skin is all wrong for a person. He isn't a vampire, a shapeshifter, or a werewolf, in fact he smells and behaves exactly like a human in all other aspects."

"What exactly was it about his skin that was so wrong, and is there anything else in particular you noticed about him?" Carlisle asked.

This time Jasper answered before anyone else could. "His skin is too uniform, as if he's wearing a thick plastic mask to imitate skin, except I couldn't see or smell any plastic. That and I couldn't see any discoloration or flushing from veins and blood of any sort." He paused here before plowing on. "Also… Also when he first saw us, I think he recognized what we were. He looked surprised – not the normal surprise or awe the humans normally have – and," he licked his lips a little nervously, his gaze pausing on Edward who had gone particularly stiff, knowing what he was about to say. "We all felt… submissive for the briefest moments when he saw us." He ignored the others stiffening and hisses of discomfort and embarrassment. "I almost bared my neck to him before I knew what I was doing."

Carlisle's eyes widened slightly, the imitation of human responses coming naturally to him after so long. "I have had such a reaction before. It was when I met a particularly powerful wizard a couple centuries ago. I barely escaped with my life."

**A/N well there it is. I'm not really sure if I rambled too much in this chapter (so if you think I did, tell me) but I hope that this is a decent first chapter. Please Review and tell me what you think of how I'm doing.**


	3. Chapter Two

_-September 1993-_

"_Tell me, Harry, what is the significance of a person's magical power?" Dumbledore asked, once again sitting behind his desk. He had done this each time I had been in his office last year; after he had dealt whatever it was that landed me there in the first place he would ask me a question. I still wasn't sure if my answers had been wrong or right, but he would always respond with something rather vague and slightly annoying. I had dismissed it as a headmaster being a headmaster and testing my knowledge at the same time as Dumbledore was being Dumbledore and being slightly batty, but the third time I had been forced to his office and he had asked his question, the answer he had given had almost made sense. I had pondered on it for a while before I finally determined what he had meant and been rather surprised by it. In the end I had spent a good portion of my spare time over the summer pondering his other questions and particularly his answers. The implications had confused me just as much as they had excited me. This time, however, he had called me to his office without another reason, and I was beginning to wonder if the reasons I had been called to his office previously had only ever been excuses for these questions._

"_Well, sir, someone's magical power is what determines what they can do magically, someone with a lot of power, like you, can do things other people can only dream about; kind of like how before you said magic was only limited by imagination, but it is also limited by power, and even if some of that can be gotten around with the right planning and, um, imagination it still needs power. So um, someone's power determines what they can do and whatnot." I flushed slightly under his particularly twinkly gaze, I had really wanted to get the answer right, and I had just managed to babble myself into embarrassment. _

"_Hmm, magical power actually determines what I call magical potential, which is, unfortunately, a potential that is surprisingly underappreciated and too often left unachieved. Also magical power determines how much magical energy a person can expend before needing to recover. However, there is one way that magical power plays a rather significant role in our society that very few people realize. Do you know what that is, Harry."_

"_No, sir. I don't know, sir." I answered not willing to make a fool of myself further by guessing wrongly again._

"_Yes, I hadn't expected you would. You see everyone has an aura that is constantly flowing off of them – think of it as magical leakage, if you will – and the stronger someone is the stronger their aura is. The rather interesting thing about this is that wizards, indeed everyone, both magical and not, both human and not, react to these auras on a subconscious level. It is instinctual for a wizard with a weaker aura to submit to one with a more powerful aura, and a wizard with a more powerful aura will often feel superior. You see it is a rather interesting interaction as the weaker an individual is the less attuned to auras they are, but also the larger the gap between auras the greater the urge to submit is. This is the reason incredibly powerful wizards, like Gellert Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort, are able to gain such large gatherings of followers, as those wizards instinctually desire to follow them." Dumbledore said calmly, as if he hadn't just dropped a rather large bombshell on me._

"_Oh." I said rather eloquently. I wondered privately why I never felt superior to the Dursleys, but I suppose it's possible they beat that out of me instead of my magic. I almost snorted, when I realized Dumbledore had just made sense and my first reaction was to guess that meant he wasn't done speaking yet. And I was right._

"_Now in my younger years I made it a bit of a hobby of mine to study auras and to become more attuned to them, I believed it would be a good idea for me to be able to tell how powerful and how well rested an opponent was just by sensing their aura. And in doing so I have developed a rather simple scale in which all individuals fit rather easily. I shall endeavor to explain it so that you might understand one of the most incredible and terrifying things about our magical society." I gulped nervously; what could inspire Dumbledore to call it terrifying? "It is a scale of one to one hundred, one being too little magic to sustain life and one hundred being a wizard of Merlin's incredible caliber. Between one and ten would be your muggles and other non-magical beings, between ten and twenty would be your squibs and between forty-five and fifty-five you would find a little over eighty percent of the wizarding population, fifty being a nice average for all wizards. Are you following thus far, Harry?"_

_I nodded vigorously, still curious as to where this was going – it still made sense. "Yes sir, I am."_

"_I would like you to take a moment to pick out a number of individuals you have met, it doesn't matter who and tell me where on that scale of power you think they fall."_

_I gazed at him confusedly for a moment. Did he want to make sure I was listening? Should I perhaps tell him about my aunt being less than ten and Mr. Filch being less than twenty? No, he asked if I was following, and I was-am, so he must want me to name wizards. "Um. Well I suppose Ron would be," Should I say forty-five because he doesn't do very well in class, or- no Ron's just lazy it has nothing to do with power. "I suppose he would be about a fifty-two or three, and Hermione would likely be a Forty-five." She is always the first to answer questions and the first to get a spell right, but she works really hard for that and even though she thinks no one knows and that she hides it well, I've seen her practicing most of our spells before we ever go to class and she usually struggles. "I suppose um Voldemort would be a, um, eighty or ninety?" Only the refrain of 'are you asking or telling?' passing through my mind stopped me from staring quizzically at Dumbledore and waiting for him to confirm it. "and, um, you'd definitely be in the nineties, um, sir." I hoped he didn't think I was trying to flatter him, or be a teacher's pet, because I wasn't._

_He peered at me closely, and smiled an amused smile; I'm sure I imagined it but I had almost thought he had been proud of my answer for a moment. "Indeed for the most part those are surprisingly accurate estimations. Young Mr. Weasley is above average at fifty-one, while your other friend Ms. Granger is a healthy forty-three. Young Mr. Riddle just before he left Hogwarts was a rather daunting eighty-seven, and has likely now grown to be somewhere in the range of ninety-two to ninety-four, I have been unable to get a clear reading on him since he left this school, all those years ago." I swallowed rather dryly, I was really kind of hoping he would tell me that Voldemort was a lot lower than that. "You Mr. Potter, are a very impressive fifty-nine, and, taking into account your age, you can expect to reach the high seventies some time during your lifetime." He smiled benignly._

_I was stunned. I really wasn't sure what I expected, but somehow I had gotten it in my mind that I was really powerful like Dumbledore and Voldemort, and that was why he was telling me this. I was disappointed and ashamed of that disappointment. Hadn't I always wanted to be normal? And here I was disappointed because I wasn't more abnormal. Somehow my defeat of Riddle in first and second year had translated into my mind that I was more powerful than him, but I had never actually fought Lord Voldemort. I had fought a weak spirit, just barely kept alive by unicorn blood, and a memory of a sixteen year old boy, and both times I had nearly died. I mentally shook myself free of those thoughts. "If you don't mind my asking, sir, you never told me where you were on that scale?"_

"_Ah, quite right, I didn't, and we are finally getting to the point of this conversation." I gave him a quizzical look, requesting silently that he continue. He smiled as his twinkling eyes became noticeably brighter. "I am quite proud to proclaim myself a whopping Thirty-two."_

"_What?" I squeaked rather shrilly._

_- January 2006 -_

The weeks passed rather uneventfully and soon the last days of winter break were passing. Harry did well in his classes, the arithmetic was incredibly easy after his own Mastery of Arithmancy and the others were no great challenge. He had pushed himself not to shy away from contact with the other students, but had only managed to put up a friendly front and, for the most part, stayed separate from the student body. Even though the vampires kept a close watch on Harry after that first day of class he never approached them and they never approached him. He had been careful to hide anything of clearly magical origin whenever they tried to spy on him in his house. The wards would warn him long before they ever got too close – that was the wonderful thing about the open-ended intent based wards that had been set up that night: even with vampire speed the wards would register the intent to visit the moment they had it, no matter whether they were half a mile away or a thousand. Of course there were limits to the wards, like he would only know that someone intended to visit and nothing more until they passed the secondary ward-line a mile out, but it was enough that he was always able to play the innocent muggle by the time the vampires showed up.

Harry was pretty sure that the vampires never would have shown any interest if he hadn't flared his aura that first day; it had become his practice during the war that, in the event of a surprise attack, he would intimidate his opponent with his aura, usually giving him enough time to respond, or even gain advantage. Of course the school hadn't been a battle field and all that his paranoia had gained him was a lovely coven of suspicious vampires. However, when he had sensed the rather unique auras of vampires he had reacted without thinking – he was just glad he had stopped himself before he had drawn his wand in the middle of the cafeteria, where he had first seen them.

Even with the added drama of the coven of vampires, Harry found having the set routine of schooling every day with little to surprise him and nothing pressing to be done surprisingly comfortable – he was even looking forward to returning to the school when winter break ended. In the years after the war the fear of people had replaced the stress of battles and had given him little respite from the time of war. At the time Harry found himself almost thanking Albus for having left such a mess of his affairs that it took so long to take care of that Harry had been forced to confront the existence of his fears. Actually, at times, he wondered if that hadn't been Albus' plan all along; he knew Harry well enough and was clever and manipulative enough to have pulled it off.

Harry looked up from the fantasy novel he had been reading in his overstuffed couch, cocking his head slightly to the side as he listened to the wards – though they made no audible sounds. Two individuals had just passed through the one mile marker, and by the fact that the wards hadn't warned him of a visitor meant that they were headed to one of his neighbors. He would have left it at that and gone back to his book, enjoying the simple adventure – even if some of it was creepily reminiscent of his own past – however, the wards told him not of a pair of muggles but a pair of rather powerful squibs. Either squibs or weak wizards, he wasn't sure and neither were the wards. So standing and stretching a little to satisfy his stiff muscles, Harry moved over to the window and, in a move disturbingly similar to one his aunt had made so many times before, he peered through the blinds and out onto the street.

What he saw was a rather old and loud, faded red truck trundling up the street before pulling in in front of the Swan residence. There was a handsome youngish boy driving the truck who immediately cut the power before running around it and grabbing a wheelchair out of the back and helping a man – who must have been his father, judging by the likeness – into the chair. Harry guessed they were from the nearby reservation by their distinctive features. They were greeted by a Chief Swan that glared exasperatedly at the young boy, who cheerfully pretended to be oblivious. Harry guessed he wasn't supposed to be driving. The conversation was a short one and soon the chief had helped get the elder of the two into his own police car and jokingly shoved the younger into the back as if he was going to go to jail, the smile on his face taking any seriousness from it. Harry pondered the two, they were clearly much more powerful than the average muggle but they didn't seem to be wizards of any kind – perhaps the local Indian reservation had its own secrets, or perhaps they were just an uncommonly powerful family of muggles. Either way they certainly weren't a threat and whatever it was about their auras that tickled his memory would come to him sooner or later. His gaze fell upon the truck again and Harry realized it must be for the chief's daughter who was coming up from Phoenix. Even Harry with his aversion to gossip had already heard all about it from shop clerks and townspeople when he went out. He couldn't help but feel slightly curious himself about this girl, but he had resolved to himself that he would neither stare nor gossip about her; he would be polite and amiable if he got the opportunity to speak with her, but he wouldn't pry and he most certainly would _not_ gossip. It had actually been his aversion to gossip that had again stunted his social interaction in the school, there still seemed very little else the individuals of this town did with their spare time. Even though most of it was not mean-spirited or overly invasive, his own experience as the 'Great' Boy-Who-Lived had permanently put him off gossip.

Shaking away his thoughts Harry returned to the book on the couch that included a ring that reminded him far too strongly of a horcrux.

**A/N I love reviews... especially if you can point anything out that needs improvement.**


	4. Chapter Three

_-September 1993-_

"_I am quite proud to proclaim myself a whopping Thirty-two."_

"_What?" I squeaked rather shrilly. "But you're Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard of the century, you defeated the Dark Lord Grindelwald and you are the only wizard Voldemort ever feared." I clamped my mouth shut before I could continue babbling. Thirty-two? How could that be?_

"_Ahh yes. Taken all together, including political power, magical prowess, and magical knowledge I am the most powerful wizard of the century. However, it was not my magical power that permitted me to achieve most of my feats. No, I am not too humble to claim that it was and is my incredible intellect and cunning that has allowed me to defeat wizards far more powerful than myself and achieve what I have."_

"_How?" I couldn't stop myself from asking._

"_Auras. That is what this entire conversation has been about. You see an aura is not a constant thing, it responds to both our emotions, and our power. What do you think would happen if Lord Voldemort in all his power were to angrily demand that someone of Ms. Granger's power were to submit to him?"_

"_Um, I guess she would have the urge to do so." I half asked, half stated._

"_Hmm. Perhaps it is best if I show you instead. You see when I say it is auras that allowed me to get as far as I have I am not exaggerating in the least. In my youth when I studied auras and I began to realize just what a large role they played in society, I realized just what a powerful tool a person's aura could be, if they could control it. I have learned to do so." He looked at me for a long while as I processed this then waited for him to continue. "I want you, Harry, to close your eyes and concentrate on what you think, when you think of me." I furrowed my brow slightly but did as he told._

_He was Albus Dumbledore, the batty genius that was also the most powerful wizard of the century – even if he wasn't the most powerful in magic. He was my Headmaster and I respect him fo – he was actually a really confusing old man that spent too much of his time collecting trinkets and not enough time working at doing his job to maintain his too many titles. I mean for goodness sake look at what has happened in his school the past two years, my friends and I have done more to keeping this school running than he ha – Oh my god. I gasped and almost apologized for my thoughts, before I froze and realized what must have just happened._

"_That Harry is what happens when I relax my control on my aura and allow it to project my true power; people such as yourself who are considerably more powerful than me will automatically take a slightly superior view of themselves in respect to me. You see whilst I have the power to place me on that scale at thirty-two, I am usually projecting my aura at about the level of a wizard who is somewhere in the seventies. At least while I am in this school I do, for it is more than enough to maintain the respect of the students. When I am in the Wizengamot, however, I often project as if I were a wizard in the eighties or, if the situation requires it, the nineties. However, that is not all an aura can do." I looked at him curiously as he gazed back at me rather sadly. "I am afraid, Harry, that this part of the demonstration will be rather unpleasant, however, it is something you will need to understand. You should brace yourself." _

_I looked at him strangely, wondering why I would need to do that, "should I concentrate on how I feel about you again, Professor?"_

"_That will not be necessary the change will be quite obvious to you." He looked at me sadly then inhaled deeply as if to gather himself, as I stared at him rather curious as to what he would do._

_When it did come there was no warning, nothing to suggest it or betray it. It was just suddenly there; the need – the overwhelming NEED. Not just to submit to Dumbledore but to do what he wanted, whatever it was it didn't matter I would do it, instantly._

_I gasped as suddenly the pressure was gone. I stared at Dumbledore blankly, eyes wide. I didn't actually see him and when I finally came to enough to realize my position I realized I was gasping for breath with my head tucked into my knees as I had curled into the fetal position on the chair. I tried to sit up and put my feet on the floor to push away the overwhelming feeling of weakness that assailed me, but my body betrayed me and just shook harder, making me aware of my shaking in the first place. There was a sound in the background. I knew that sound. I trusted that sound. I focused on that sound. "Have one of the lemon drops, Harry, they are laced with calming draught and will help." I shakily managed to raise my head to see where the voice was coming from, to see what it meant. I looked up into Dumbledore's sad eyes. I flinched so badly I toppled from the chair. Dumbledore attempted to reach out to help me back into the seat, but I flinched again and scrambled across the floor away from him, ending in a corner and flush against a bookshelf, still shaking like a leaf. Dumbledore's shoulders slumped more. "I think I shall leave you now, have as many of the lemon drops as you want or need, and take as long as you need. You may show yourself out when you think you are ready." He stood leaving the tin of candies on the floor between us, almost as if in offering. He strode over to a tapestry on one wall as I curled into myself in the corner, always keeping my eyes fixed upon him. "If you do not make it back to your dorm before curfew you may use this guest bedroom." He said as he opened the tapestry, revealing a view of a dark room that he lit with a flick of his wand. "Take as long as you need." He said softly not looking at me as he made his way to the staircase at the back of his office. His steps were almost a slow shuffle and his shoulders sagged, as if under a great weight. When he reached for the banister I saw his hand was shaking slightly. He made his way up the stair, step by step, slow and weak, and finally he disappeared into the rooms at the top. I stayed curled in the corner still shaking long after he had disappeared._

- March 2006 -

The Swan girl was pretty and had managed to attract a great deal of attention and gossip from the adventure starved townspeople of Forks that even after more than a month hadn't completely faded, but other than that she wasn't anything particularly interesting. No, it wasn't the Swan girl that had caught Harry's attention, it was the vampires reaction to her. He hadn't noticed anything at first, having spent a larger portion of his energy than he would like to admit trying to ignore the vampires. However, he couldn't fail to notice when he had to repeatedly scramble to hide anything magical when his mile wide secondary wardline notified him of a visiting vampire after his primary wards had failed to notify him. It turned out that one of the vampires kept repeatedly visiting the Swan house, which was within his secondary wardline.

He wasn't exactly sure how he should react. He honestly didn't care that much about the vampires as long as they didn't start any trouble, so he could pretend to remain blissfully ignorant of them; it just so happened that a vampire stalking a human, in no uncertain terms, meant trouble.

So the decision had come down to whether he should remove the vampire coven before they caused more trouble, wait for them to cause the trouble then remove them, or warn them and hopefully discourage any trouble. The last one was perhaps the stupidest and most Gryffindorish of them. So he was doing the last one.

Even before he had committed to confronting the vampires he had been planned out his warning, allowing his mind to work on the problem in the background while he worked on anything and everything else. He wasn't sure if he should be amused or dismayed at the turn his thoughts had taken; he had decided the best way to make his warning as persuasive as possible he would have to play "The Wizard," as he had come to call it. Everyone had their own idea of what the ultimate wizard persona was, and they were usually some mixture of Dumbledore and Gandalf; he had to come across as casually non-threatening at the same time as being so powerful or wise so as not to be taken as anything but seriously. Unfortunately he didn't have a really impressive beard or big staff, or even the ability to claim to have lived three-hundred lifetimes of men. To put it plainly he was falling short in the ultimate wizard persona department, and it gave him the strangest urge to pout like a petulant child – not because he was so disappointed by his unwizardly-ness, but because the idea of throwing a tantrum over it was highly amusing.

All of this had resulted in him standing in front of the Cullen's front door wearing a rather un-magical pair of jeans and a nice button-up over a deep green t-shirt, having dropped his glamour and instead had a small but powerful repelling ward around his body that would, at the very least, give him enough time before failing so that he could Shift out of danger. He had decided that because he failed in the typical wizard persona he would instead play a supernatural being that was so powerful it could be completely at ease amongst a coven of vampires, and for that he would allow his true skin to show and play up the whole "Master of Death" thing. He had also taken the liberty of suppressing the sound of his heart and blood along with his scent, because even if he was confident his ward would hold for at least a few seconds even if all seven attacked at once, he would really rather not have to rely on it.

Harry knocked against the door, knowing that they would have only just become aware of his presence as he had Shifted directly onto the doorstep, even so he only had to wait a fraction of a second before the door was flung open to reveal the scowling visage of the one he thought was Rosalie. She took in his slightly altered appearance with a flick of her eyes and asked abruptly, "What do you want here, wizard?"

Harry smiled cheekily at her as he brushed past her in a move that would have been impossible without the repelling ward. "Why, hello to you too. I was rather hoping I could speak to you and your coven." Harry ignored her rather murderous look as he invited himself in and made a rather large scene of making himself comfortable on their living room couch. They were all in the room by now, all of them having been in the house when he had shown up. The obvious head of the coven, an older appearing male, who Harry knew to be Doctor Carlisle Cullen, looked at him curiously for a moment before moving to sit himself in another seat, commanding the others of his coven to do likewise with a glance.

Once everyone was seated and Harry was having fun playing a rather hyper and oblivious boy, bouncing on the cushion of the couch deliberately. "Perhaps you might tell us what has you wishing to speak to us, young wizard?" Dr. Cullen asked, far more kindly than his 'daughter' had.

Harry smiled almost absently, then slowed his bouncing and turned his expression to one of mock seriousness, "I most certainly will, my good vampire." He said with as posh an accent as he could give it, succeeding rather well being a Brit in America. Harry smiled again the serious expression fleeing. "I was actually just wondering whether or not you were planning on killing that Swan girl." Taking pleasure in their still forms, he had managed to shock them into, Harry became truly serious for the first time. Using his rapid behavior changes to keep them as off balance as possible. "You see I find myself feeling oddly responsible for the lives of the little humans, and I need to know if I should begin sharpening my stakes." He finished trying show earnest curiosity with his expression. At the twitch and growl of the same one who had greeted him at the door Harry couldn't help the twitch of his lips. "Yeah, yeah, I know wooden stakes don't actually do anything, but it sounds much better than saying I need to search my library for anything I might have stupidly forgotten when dealing with non-magically enhanced human beings." He scrunched up his nose in distain, "Bah, what a mouthful." He added in a dismissive waive of his hand for good measure.

By now most of the vampires were openly staring and Harry could almost see them wondering if he had a few screws loose. The bronze-haired one, Edward, looked like he was trying overly hard to concentrate, as if he thought the facial expression of furrowed brows and focused eyes might somehow help, and the other one, Jasper he thought, just looked rather befuddled. The coven leader cleared his throat, unnecessarily, "We have no intention of harming anyone, we are, what we jokingly call, vegetarian vampires, meaning we only drink the blood of animals."

Harry sighed dramatically, as if greatly relieved. "Great, because I really don't think I actually have any books on vampires, so if I forgot something I'd really be out of luck." Again Harry took pleasure in their poorly veiled disbelief at his behavior. Putting on a comically over the top expression of deep puzzlement and concentration, Harry asked, "But I could have sworn one of those things I didn't forget is that vampires only _stalk_ things they either intend to drain or play with." He put extra emphasis on stalk, trying to get across that it wasn't the stalking of a predator after prey, instead being the stalking of an overly obsessive boy for a popular girl. Just in case they didn't get it he settled his gaze rather forcefully on Edward. When several of their gazes followed Harry's, he knew he had made his point.

"I won't hurt her." Edward snarled, almost as if trying to convince himself.

Harry snorted, dropping a good deal of his act, "No, instead you just break into her house night after night to watch her sleep." Harry fixed Edward with his gaze, "It's downright creepy and despite the fact that you may feel yourself above human privacy because it is so easy to invade as a vampire, It. Must. Stop." By the expressions in most of their faces and eyes Harry could tell they would be shifting rather uncomfortably if they were human. "To be honest I would really rather we both be able to ignore each other's presence here in Forks. However, if you continually cross my wards every night to go spy on the girl, then I might just be inclined to do something drastic." Here Harry let his disposition take on as serious an aspect he could while flaring his aura to the point they really couldn't ignore. "Do not underestimate me, and do not ignore my warning." With one last glance around the room Harry Shifted away to his own house hardly even creating a stir in the air.

Harry sighed collapsing backward onto his couch, the show he had put on for the Cullen's had taken more out of him than he had expected, that and he knew he would now be keeping the repelling ward on at all times.

**A/N Okay so according to one timeline I have looked up, it looks like all of this is supposed to be happening in 2005. So just push everything from the Twilight series back a year. Also I think I might be switching to first person everything, as there were several times I found myself writing that way without realizing it and having to go back and correct it. Also note, in this chapter I am just trying to portray a little of Harry's insecurities and whatnot, he isn't insane and this won't be a comedy – though if I managed to make you laugh that is good. **


	5. Chapter Four

_**- November 1993 -**_

_I stepped into Dumbledore's office timidly, trying to conceal my nerves. My friends had, of course, noticed something was off – I hadn't been able to even force myself to enter the great hall for fear of seeing Dumbledore at meals, instead I would take them in the kitchens. It had actually been a chance comment of Hermione's that had allowed me to return, when she mentioned that Dumbledore hadn't been attending meals either. I knew he had done it for me, that he would stay away so that I might eat with my friends; it ashamed me that I had chased Dumbledore out of his own hall because I couldn't master my fear._

_For several days prior to the Halloween feast most of the portraits would talk of the celebration and how the Headmaster would be present – I even heard McGonagall mention how she would make sure he came down from his tower even if she had to drag him down – and again I knew it was for my benefit. He was warning me that he would be present and he was testing to see if I was ready for his presence._

_I had forced myself to go and not to shy away from the sight of him, and I knew that my presence at the feast was the reason I had received an invitation to Dumbledore's office not more than a week later. It was actually the first time it was an invitation – all the others had been politely worded commands. However much I wanted to stay away, I forced myself to go again, knowing that I had to get some answers along with facing my fears, I am a Gryffindor. _

"_Ah, Harry, come in and make yourself comfortable. I shall be with you in a moment." He was standing farther back in his office, not behind his desk, and petting Fawkes his phoenix with his back to me; probably something else he was doing to make me more comfortable. "Oh, yes, and you may help yourself to a lemon drop if you want one." There was a tray of them on a little desk – I could have sworn wasn't there a moment ago – right next to where I sat and I remembered his words from the last time that I was here, telling me that they contained calming draught. I eyed them for a moment before snatching one up and popping it into my mouth. Almost immediately I could feel some of the tension drain from my body, allowing me to relax into the large chintz armchair._

_When I looked up again Dumbledore had taken his seat behind his desk and was watching me. I squirmed slightly, but kept silent. "I am sorry, my boy, for what happened last month, but I wanted you to truly understand what I would be teaching you."_

"_Teaching me?" I blurted, before blushing, embarrassed. _

"_Yes. I shall be teaching you all I know – that is, if you accept to become my apprentice." He gazed at me kindly from behind his desk and half-moon spectacles._

_I couldn't keep myself from gawping at him. When I finally recovered my wits I couldn't help but wonder why he would want me as his apprentice. "I – of course I accept, sir. But, um, sir, why me?"_

_He smile, "I have several reasons, not least of which is your unrivaled courage and compassion." I flushed hotly and couldn't stop myself from glancing away as I gathered myself. "However, another reason is one that I am sure you have realized already: Voldemort. Surely you have noticed how events seem to push the two of you together." _

_I had of course noticed, but I had still hoped it was just coincidence or bad luck. I knew enough about magic that I knew there were occasionally events that Magic itself would encourage or even arrange. It wasn't some deity or even really sentient, however, time after time people had noticed and recorded patterns and balances in events, more so than mere repetition of history. It had become common knowledge to those who made it their life's work to practice magic that magic was most powerful in balance, and therefore sought to achieve it. If a person such as Voldemort tipped the balance too far, then magic would tip back. Sometimes, in fact often, these forces of balance would come in the form of individuals, and I had suspected that I might be one of them. I had not previously wanted to give voice to my thoughts and I still didn't, feeling almost as if speaking it aloud would somehow seal my fate. So I merely nodded._

"_Much as Gellert fell to me to deal with, the burden of defeating Voldemort will lie most heavily upon you. That does not mean he is purely your responsibility, nor does it mean that I or any others cannot help you with your task. And I fully intend to make sure you are as prepared for your future as I can make you." I shivered slightly, not wanting to think about Voldemort. His words, however, had reminded me of something he had said in our previous meeting._

"_Sir, you said it was auras that allowed you to defeat Grindelwald, how is that?"_

_Dumbledore smiled rather grimly. "I am sure you remember what it felt like to have the full weight of my aura focused on you." It wasn't a question and he didn't even wait for my shaky nod to continue. "Now imagine what would happen if an individual were to experience that in the middle of a duel." My eyes widened comically, when he had focused his aura upon me it had been the farthest thing from my mind to fight him in any way. "You see the legends of mine and Gellert's great duel that spanned and scarred miles of land and took hours to come to a close are quite fictitious. In fact the final confrontation between us lasted less than a minute. I disoriented him with my aura and disarmed and stunned him before he recovered and that was it. Highly anticlimactic." _

_I stared at him rather stunned; it was a bit of a tradition that the first night of a new school year the older students would tell stories of the teachers to the younger, and one of the most popular would always be the grand retelling of Dumbledore's epic defeat of Grindelwald. Each year I had heard the story it had been slightly different, but it had always been an impressive tale. _ Highly anticlimactic, indeed.

_I furrowed my brow slightly in confusion, "But if that is all it takes then why didn't you do the same for Voldemort?" I winced slightly, that had come out sounding more accusatory than I had meant._

"_Ah. I did indeed try, however, Gellert Grindelwald and Tom Riddle are two very different individuals and have two very different fighting styles." He seemed lost in thought for a moment, and I wondered if I should say something, but I held my tongue. "Are you familiar with the purpose and basic mechanics of personal wards, Harry?"_

_I nodded, "It was one of the examples of the uses of runes that Professor Babbling gave us in the beginning of the year." I told him, wondering if he knew that already or not._

"_Indeed, you see Gellert didn't believe in personal wards; his philosophy was that wizards should fight on even ground and if his opponent is good enough to get a spell past his defenses then they deserve to have earned the hit. A rather strange philosophy for a self-proclaimed Dark Lord, but it was what he believed in. Tom, on the other hand, believes only in being the most powerful and most feared and quite willingly embraces personal wards. Tom Riddle is also more powerful than Grindelwald so the strain of maintaining personal wards is not so great for him." Again Dumbledore seemed to gaze off into his memories, before pulling himself back to the present. "The point, is that the wards act as a small constant shield of magic that wraps around him that serves the purpose of protecting him. However, something I am sure Riddle is not aware of, is that the powerfully magical wards also act as both interference and a buffer for him from my, or anyone else's, aura. That combined with his own, greater, power meant that even at my strongest I could not fully incapacitate him. When I tried he did hesitate, for a moment, however, even as he hesitated all that managed to get past his normal defenses were still turned away by his wards." Dumbledore turned his gaze to me as I pondered what he had told me. "So while control of your aura will be among the things I will teach you, and it will undoubtedly be useful, it will not be an aura that defeats Voldemort in the end."_

_I remained in my seat, my mind racing, but I felt detached from it. I had thought for a few moments that Dumbledore had all the answers ready, that all I would have to do would be to learn to control my aura and then I would be able to reenact his defeat of Grindelwald, just this time with Voldemort. "But what can I do that you couldn't? Surely there is something else you know to do?" I hated the begging whine to me voice, but I didn't want to admit to myself that there might be something I wouldn't be able to rely on Dumbledore for. This thing in particular – the defeat of the greatest Dark Lord of the millenium._

"_Ah, but you forget again, Harry, you will soon be more than twice as powerful as I, and even though power isn't everything, as I have proved, it is still quite the helping hand." Dumbledore said with sparkling eyes and a mischievous grin. "Also you and I are just as different as Gellert and Tom are, I was always fascinated by peoples' interactions and behavior, which has lead me to my discovery of all that auras do and are, and to my superb skill in legilimency and all forms of the Mind Arts. You, on the other hand, have a much more methodical mind and show a great deal of aptitude for numbers and patterns, and though I don't know how, I am sure it will help you before the end." _

_I had forgotten that he had told me our respective powers. I inspected Dumbledore, trying to see some sign that indicated he was really a far below average wizard; all I found was the same rather batty, but brilliant, Headmaster. _

"_I think that will be all for today, Harry." He reached to the edge of his desk, as I stood, and picked up a small rather worn journal and held it out to me. "This book explains and expounds upon the most useful art of Occlumency, I think you will find it most fascinating." I took the book and glanced through the pages; it was written in a thin spidery scrawl that I had come to associate with Dumbledore. "By the way, Harry, how are you enjoying Ancient Runes and Arithmancy?"_

_I smiled, "I love them both, sir, I'm really happy to be taking them. They are actually a lot easier than I expected, I'm glad you recommended them last year." He smiled kindly and for a moment I thought he looked a little too knowing and almost sad. "I also really enjoy Care of Magical Creatures, with Hagrid, he's a good teacher." I felt I had to take this opportunity to say it, even though I knew Dumbledore was on Hagrid's side._

"_Ah, yes, it was quite unfortunate that young Master Malfoy was so injured." I scowled, but I knew Dumbledore knew the truth so I didn't bother arguing. I nodded before leaving and shutting the door behind me, slightly surprised at how relaxed I had been in Dumbledore's presence, and wondering how powerful those lemon drops were. _

- March 2006 -

The Cullens all sat, watching the now empty seat in still silence, uncomfortable with the feelings of submission that only some of them recognized from time among far older and more powerful vampires. Even to their highly advanced senses the wizard's departure had been instantaneous and virtually silent. "What should we do?" The question came from Esme, as she glanced around the members of her family.

Several seconds passed as each contemplated the question while waiting for Carlisle's answer. Edward and Jasper both looked as though they wanted to answer, but held themselves in check, waiting for their Sire to speak. They may call themselves a family and not a coven, but even so there was an unspoken hierarchy of power, at the top of which was Carlisle, being the oldest. He finally spoke, having ordered his own thoughts. "We shall not seek confrontation, he clearly only sought us out because he noticed Edward's interest in Bella. We will heed his warning as well." Carlisle sent a reprimanding glance at Edward when he made a low sound of discontent. He focused his thoughts carefully to insure the unspoken message was clear, _Although you may not like it, it is true that your actions would be construed as inappropriate to any human. They do not have our senses nor do they realize that whether we are in the room or not their privacy is virtually non-existent. _Someone who didn't have their enhanced senses didn't realize that they could always tell if they had just come from the bathroom, if they were aroused, or even whether they had had sex with their spouse the night before, and that was all just smell.

As Carlisle's gaze moved away from a, if not chastised then an accepting, Edward, it settled on an equally discontent Jasper. "Just because we will not seek confrontation does not mean we need ignore the situation. I think it would be prudent if I used a few of my contacts to seek out more information on wizards, and perhaps even this wizard in particular." This seemed to appease Jasper, if only slightly.

They fell into silence once again, though this time it was not allowed to settle as Rosalie huffed, in a far too human a gesture to be natural, and stalked from the room, saying she had better things to do than put up with children with more power than sense or intelligence. Despite the fact that they all knew the dramatics were for their benefit, it worked to break some of the tension and the rest of the family drifted apart to occupy themselves as they contemplated the question that was their resident wizard.

- July 2006 -

"So so if vampires exist, and you say there are such things as werewolves as well, should I expect to be told one day that Alice was really a pixie before she was turned, and that you and the family still sometimes go dance in their faerie rings on cloudless nights?" Bella asked, only partially teasing.

Edward chuckled, "No, Alice was definitely human before she was turned, and I've never heard of a turned pixie or faerie. I'm pretty sure they can't survive the venom and die if they're bitten." He paused waiting.

Bella stiffened, "Wait, so there really are pixies and faeries? Like real live pixies and faeries?" She had sat up from her lounging position against him to be able to look him in the eye and judge his expression.

He smiled, amusedly. "Yes, although I personally have never seen a true faerie, they are said to have left earth when mankind began working in and with Cold Iron. Pixies, on the other hand, are far more common, even if they aren't very intelligent or even much like the myths; they tend to be very shy and skittish unless a confrontation is forced, then they are very very aggressive, even for such tiny things."

Bella stared at him, blinking rather owlishly for a moment. "Are you serious? You're not yanking my chain or anything?" At his indulgent nod, she blinked a couple more times. "Ok then, what else is there out there?"

Edward paused, considering his answer. "If you've heard a legend or myth about it, then it likely exists somewhere in some form, even if that form is very different than that which was portrayed in the story. There are dragons and griffins, mermaids and kraken, even centaurs, giants, goblins, and elves." Edward couldn't help but laugh at Bella's flabbergasted expression.

"But, how can they keep themselves concealed? I mean, I can understand how vampires can be passed off as really pretty people out of sunlight, but how could all those other creatures never be discovered?"

Edward gazed at Bella, almost as if weighing whether she was ready for the knowledge he held. The looked he had passed quickly, as if she passed whatever test his mind had posed her. "That secret lies mostly with a last group, that, like the other creatures of myth, exist slightly differently in reality than they do in stories. This last group is that of witches and wizards." He smiled again, amused that she could still be surprised by the revelation. "When the supernatural hid itself away from the normal the wizards cast an enchantment upon all living things. It was actually, technically, a curse, however, that is rather irrelevant. It had several consequences, the most important of which, was that anyone without enough magic in their own bodies to combat the slight effects of the curse would find themselves incapable of perceiving most things supernatural. It would take a blatant and overt act of the impossible to break through the hold the curse has on everyone before they would be able to truly perceive that which their eyes might see; even then, the wizards employ several failsafes that allow them to prevent their own exposure." He paused again, waiting as she took this in, her expression taking on a considering countenance as she pondered what she had been told. "Wizards, since that day have used , and perhaps even overused, a rather simple form of protective ward that both feeds off of and into this curse, heightening its effects greatly in certain areas where wizards don't want people looking any closer. In truth, the world's landmass is almost nine percent larger than most people are aware, because of all the little, and sometimes, not so little pockets of land that the wizards have separated for their own use. It is one of the reasons the supernatural world has been in such a frenzy the past century; normal people are beginning to get too powerful, now that there are so many of them and now that they have so many dangerous weapons and powerful computers that aren't living- that is the important part, the curse that keeps them unnoticed and unnoticeable was designed to affect the mind of a living being, computers and satellites aren't living so more and more of the protection the wizards depend upon is becoming useless. It got to the point where the wizards were forced to reveal themselves to the regular governments and depend upon those governments to silence and conceal the evidence of the supernatural that keeps popping up." He smiled at her slightly concerned and slightly perturbed look. "All of the supernatural creatures are aware that it won't be much longer before it is impossible for them to remain hidden; for nearly four thousand years the supernatural have been the dominant force in the world, but the last few centuries have seen a shift in power. Many have believed that they should 'put the un-magicals' in their place, and it has started more than one war. However, that hasn't happened and that balance that has for so long been in the supernatural's favor continues to shift towards yours." He let the silence stretch for a while, waiting for her to process what he had told her.

She opened her mouth to speak but Edward shushed her, "Come on, you've been here longer than you should have, I need to get you back to your dad's house. You can sleep on what I've told you and you can ask me more questions tomorrow. Most of what I just told you is actually pretty new information to me too." Edward quirked his lips I response to her rather demanding, questioning look. "One of the students in school is actually a wizard, and my family and I found it prudent to find out more about him and his kind when we realized he was here and aware of us."

"What? A wizard, who is it? Do I know them?" The surprise of this little tidbit seemed to finally unseal her lips. "Wait. Should I be worried, why did your family feel the need to know more?"

Edward squeezed her hand slightly, to silence and comfort her. "We thought at first that he might be trouble, because of the way he confronted us. However, we have since come to more of an understanding and you don't need to worry about him at all. In fact, if there is any trouble in the future and you can't get in contact with us it would be a good idea to go to him."

Now that she was assured that he wasn't a danger she gave him an impatient and exasperated look. "I'm so glad you told me who this mystery wizard I am supposed to go to for help."

Edward rolled his eyes, "He's that Potter kid, looks a little younger than you with black hair and distinctive green eyes." He waited for her to remember him, her expression going slightly distant as she searched her memory, before it cleared and she hummed and nodded in confirmation.

He smiled and shuffled her out of his lap and onto her own feet, "Now come, I really need to get you back to your father, before he decides to pay me a visit with his gun and police cruiser." His wry look, elicited a laugh from Bella as he lead her towards the car.

**A/N ****Small Edit: Okay, so I've had several comments about retaliation against edward or bella for the revealing of the wizarding world (I kind a figure that she's already sucked into that world) so I won't have harry going after them or anything - though they won't be best buds or anything.**

**This story will be slash and it will be a Harry/Seth pairing, though there probably won't be anything more than pg-13 anything because of the age difference and the fact I'm just not writing that kind of story.**


	6. Chapter Five

_-January 1994-_

"_Ah, welcome young Harry. How did you find that book I lent you?" Dumbledore asked cheerily._

_I smiled a bit as I settled myself in the same chair I had sat in last time, again like last time the moment I sat I noticed a small table with a number of lemon drops in a dish. This time I decided not to take one, and deliberately looked away from it and focused on Dumbledore. "It was quite interesting, sir, and I have even been doing some of the mental exercises it detailed, as I imagine that is what you wanted." As I said this I slipped the small journal from my pocket to place it on his desk. The book was all about how the mind worked, especially in conjunction with magic, and how one should strengthen their mind against outside influence. It was mostly all about the 'why' instead of the 'how,' but it still detailed several ways one could help fortify and strengthen their mind allowing for all sorts of benefits._

_Dumbledore smiled slightly wider and his eyes seemed to twinkle slightly as they lingered on the unused dish of sweets. He accepted the small journal and turned it over in his hands fondly, "I did indeed hope that you would be able to benefit from its contents." He stood from his desk and strode over to a bookshelf along the wall where he shelved the book beside dozens of other similar looking journals before taking out a slightly thicker one right next to it, even across the room I could feel the slight tingle and crackle of powerful wards; obviously Dumbledore was quite protective of his journals. When Dumbledore sat behind his desk he placed the new journal at the edge. "I think you shall find that will answer many of the questions the first left unanswered. Though I must caution you not to try any of the exercises it contains for quite some time yet." I gave him a questioning look, silently asking for an explanation, as I picked up the book and read the title on the first page: _Occlumency & Legillimency, The Mind Magicked. _"The first book I gave you was merely an introduction, and included none of the magical aspects of the Mind Magicks, after all it can be dangerous to use magic within one's mind. Wouldn't want to fry anything, would we?" He said this last bit with a decidedly mischievous twinkle in his eye. _

_I stared at Dumbledore for a moment, slightly amused and wanting to say something along the lines of that explaining Dumbledore's eccentricities, but I wasn't sure he would appreciate it, despite those same eccentricities… especially if that really was the reason behind them. I gulped slightly, looking at the book in my hands a little differently now. It came as a surprise to me, even though it shouldn't, that there were ways to actually use active magic within one's mind; they were called Mind Magicks for a reason, however, so I really should have expected this from the beginning. "Yes sir, I'll be sure to read through everything and understand it all before I even consider trying any of it." What I didn't say is that I might just spend every waking minute between now and then reading and re-reading this journal. Even with just the non-magical exercises detailed in the first journal I had noticed an increase in my ability to focus and keep on task; I had surprised myself by staying awake through History of Magic, and further surprised myself when I realized it was slightly interesting if I made the effort to interpret Binns' droning monotone. I could hardly imagine what one could do if they were able to actually use magic to enhance their mind. Suddenly the knowledge that the wizarding world, despite its appearance of being stuck in the dark ages, was the source of almost all higher mathematics and sciences that so many muggle-raised thought were the sole domain of the muggle world wasn't so hard to comprehend. It had originally come as a great shock that of all the names of the great minds of history I had learned in muggle school only Leonardo da Vinci had actually been muggle, all the rest had been squibs or wizards who had taken what was common knowledge to the wizarding world and used it to make a name for themselves amongst muggles. The idea that magic might actually be able to enhance someone's ability to think was a staggering revelation._

"_Good, Harry, I'm glad to hear it. However, the true art of Occlumency and Legillimency are very rarely what one expects, I imagine a great deal of the book will come as a surprise to you, and I shan't be ruining it now." He smiled cheerily, no doubt aware how eager I was to read the journal. "Instead I thought I could take this time to introduce you to the Theory of the Dimensions of Battle. Have you ever heard of it before?" I shook my head, and put aside thoughts of the journal as best as I could so I would understand and remember what Dumbledore was going to tell me. He nodded slightly, having received the answer he expected. "The Theory of the Dimensions of Battle is at once very obvious and very complex; most simply put it is that one must be prepared to face an opponent on all the fields – or dimensions, as it were – that they are prepared to fight with themselves. In their most basic and broad descriptions the Dimensions of Battle are Physical, Mental, and Magical; each, however, have innumerable subcategories, only a few of which we shall be exploring today. For example, should an opponent attack you with physical force, then you must be able to defend yourself from physical force, should they attack with spells you need to be able to defend yourself from spells, and finally should they attack your mind you must be able to defend your mind. The average individual, being muggle, will only ever learn to fight in the physical and mental categories, and even then they are severely limited in the mental – capable of only psychological games. I will not presume to fully understand the full breakdown of how warfare is carried out among muggles, and I have little need to, as once the third dimension of Magic becomes involved the rules change entirely." He paused, either gathering his thoughts or permitting me to gather mine, and I was glad to take advantage of it. _

_I was slightly confused, although his explanation, though brief, of the 'Dimensions of Battle' available to muggles, helped; it seemed, from what I could tell, that the Theory was all about what tools or weapons someone is able to use in a fight. Muggles being incapable of Magic, and therefore the Mental Arts, which Dumbledore was no doubt alluding to, had developed hundreds of different ways to wield physical forces (swords, guns, explosives, along with the good ol' One-Two, as Vernon would put it) to do their fighting. _

"_Magic makes the physical almost superfluous, with the simplest of repelling charms no simple punch, kick, or bullet could make contact with the wizard until it had worn-off. In fact, it is quite common practice for nearly all adult wizards to maintain a relatively weak personal ward against such things that would make anything but muggle's atomic weapon all but useless, and such wards, unlike a simple charm, wouldn't fade." As Dumbledore said this, his tone almost seemed saddened, though whether it was about the multitude of various muggle weapons or their complete ineffectiveness, I couldn't tell. "Indeed the only role the physical really plays in wizarding fights of today is in dodging and endurance."_

_I frowned slightly, I hadn't really thought all that hard about such spells or really what would happen if there ever truly was a war between the magical and muggle worlds. Before now I had always just assumed that the main reason wizards hid, even if they didn't want to admit it, was because they were so outnumbered and 'out-gunned.' Now, if what Dumbledore said was true, then my, perhaps romantic and naïve, imaginings of a simple muggle or muggle-born putting a pureblood in his place by some great show of martial arts or fitness seemed rather laughable and pathetic. "But, sir, what about Godric Gryffindor's sword, and all the other weapons used by magical beings? If they were so ineffective then why bother?"_

_Dumbledore hummed slightly with a small smile. "Those are relics of a different time; a time when the number of spells were far fewer and witches and wizards wielded staffs as often as crude wands, and even then the few seemingly muggle weapons used all had to be specially enchanted to be able to pierce or bypass such protective magics as were available at the time. Since then much has been discovered and refined about magic – wand magic most specifically – that has made such things impractical. It is still possible to enchant a weapon to bypass wards and charms, however, doing so is extremely complicated and even then a simple conjured shield or obstacle would be able to stop the weapon. I do believe an enterprising young muggle-born a couple generations back attempted to market his idea of an enchanted muggle gun, capable of piercing any magical shield and faster than any spell; he found, however, that in order to work each bullet had to be enchanted individually, and specially forged too, to be able to hold the enchantment in such a small bit of metal. It became far too impractical when he realized that to avoid the development of any wards specifically for his weapons he would have to not only create and enchant each bullet individually, but he would have to enchant each uniquely; something which could take several weeks per bullet. In the end I believe he achieved Outstandings from both his Charms and Muggle Studies classes for a well researched and put together research paper, and the idea never went anywhere from there."_

_I sat back in my chair, slightly slumped, feeling the metaphorical winds stolen from my sails. I wondered briefly if anyone had considered using such a gun against Voldemort, after all, wouldn't a few months effort be worth it to stop the most powerful Dark Lord of recent history. I quickly realized, however, that small bits of enchanted metal were unlikely to hurt an individual who had survived the past twelve years without a body. I shuddered as I remembered the hideous spirit that had torn itself free from Professor Quirrel's body and the idea that a few small chunks of missing flesh would bother Voldemort, even if he did have his own body and the bullets managed to pierce his wards (which Dumbledore had already said were more extensive than most), seemed laughable._

"_However, we were speaking of the dimensions of battle, and there are a few more salient points I wish to address before I shall let you get back to your _school_ work." He smiled as he said this giving the journal I still had in my lap a significant look as he emphasized the word school. "The reason I originally brought up this topic, before I indulged in this rather long-winded explanation, was because the more dimensions and sub-dimensions that an individual is capable of fighting on, the more likely they are to not only be able to match their opponent, but to exceed them. Most wizards will learn the standard battery of hexes, jinxes, and curses that everyone inevitably develops, along with a small, but comprehensive, set of personal wards and a basic mastery of Occlumency. This would normally permit them to be relatively well protected in almost any duel; however, there are a select few individuals, like myself and our most recent Dark Lords, who will learn to fight on many more aspects of combat. Not only to cast spells at our opponents but to change our surroundings to attack our opponent as well, not only to defend our minds but to attack theirs as well. They call us Titans, for in battle we will often attack our opponents on so many fronts that they fall so quickly as to seem merely mortal in comparison." Dumbledore smiled rather grimly at this, not appearing at all the absent old wizard. "With not only advanced spells and fast paced dueling, but the ability to invade our opponent's minds, seeking to distract or even incapacitate, we are able to decimate our opposition. Most who witness a duel between two titans, or even any individual who manages to last against one, will notice a great deal of posturing , which is meant to distract, unbalance, or provoke an opponent into providing an opening in their mental defenses." He paused, selecting one of the lemon drops on his own desk to pop into his mouth, again allowing me to gather my thoughts. It made sense, I supposed, if an opponent wasn't prepared to defend themselves in certain ways then you could easily defeat them, however, I had a hard time imagining someone able to fight not only with flashy or powerful spells as well as their minds and wills all at once. It occurred to me that by this definition of combat that if one were to continue to classify things into further and further sub-dimensions that one would eventually reach a point where each spell had a sub-dimension of its own; by that logic every spell cast against an opponent that they aren't familiar with, would, in a way, be attacking them on a front they were unfamiliar with. It made sense in a way, and in another it seemed too extreme an example, but it still helped me understand the concept._

"_Finally we get to the point I originally set out to make. The Dimensions of Battle, like all things, are subject to change and evolution; just as we were discussing earlier the enchantment of physical weapons has become all but useless in today's world, where it was once not only very useful but a symbol of status. Auras, which I have already attributed most of my political and combative successes are, in fact, a new sub-dimension of the Mental and Magical, which no one has ever before trained themselves to fight with. You see, Auras like all Mind Arts attack the mind, however, unlike legillimency, which attacks the conscious, Auras attack the subconscious, and because of that is able to bypass most mental defenses. What I want you to take away from this conversation is that no matter whether it is a new form of mental battle, or a new type of charm that you create for yourself, anything that your opponent is unfamiliar with, cannot defend against, or cannot predict is an advantage." Dumbledore finished rather solemnly before shaking himself, and, in an overly dramatic and cheerful manner, shook back his sleeve to glance mischievously at his bare wrist, "Would you look at the time! Best be off, Harry. We wouldn't want you to miss curfew."_

_I soon found myself riding down his spiral staircase, having been shuffled out of his office rather abruptly. Smiling amusedly I glance down at my own wrist, which held more than freckles and hairs, to see that I only had six minutes if I was going to make it back before Filch could give me detention. I suppressed a curse as I took off down the hall at a brisk pace. _

_-oOo-_

_Occlumency is not about grand mental landscapes where one builds up impressive monuments of mental might – more mentally exhausting than contemplations of Chromius' Postulate on Temporal Redefiguration. Instead Occlumency is the strict regulation and maintenance of the divide(s) between the conscious, superconscious, and subconscious minds and the regulation of mental processes within those. Conversely, legillimency is the art of both mental projection and sympathetic thought – wherein the legilimens will either synchronize his own thoughts to match his targets or his targets to match his own, through a temporary magical, sympathic bond. This permits two people to experience the same conscious mind, permitting what many have crudely named 'mind-reading.' _

_~ Excerpt from The Thoughts of My Mind, by Myima Gina Tion (My•__**ee**__•muh __**Gee**__•nuh __**Tee**__•on)_

_-oOo-_

_Among the varied and many warnings that accompany legilimency is one that is often ignored or forgotten: that one must _NEVER _use legilimency on a vampire. What few know, or care to find out, is that during the Turning an individual's mind changes on several different fundamental levels. Most notable among these changes is the fact that a vampire has virtually no subconscious whatsoever, meaning that a vampire is literally incapable learning as humans do; a vampire must always consciously modify their behavior based upon past memory, instead of acts becoming instinctual or habitual due to repetition. This is also the reason vampires do not sleep, their minds do not require time to analyze their actions as all analysis is done consciously, this results in older vampires often showing a great deal more skill and finesse in their actions than the young. The reason it is so dangerous to attempt legilimency against a vampire, is because often times the human mind will be overwhelmed by the multitude of thoughts within a vampire's much expanded conscious; this can result in anything from a severe headache to permanent brain damage, or death if the magic attempts to force a humans conscious to process a similar number of thoughts in a much reduced portion of the brain._

_~Excerpt from The Thoughts of Their Mind, by Myima Gina Tion_

- October 2006 -

Harry gazed around at the interior of his house; of his home. It hadn't been so at the beginning of last year, when he had to constantly remind himself of the rather pathetic, lonely life he had been and would have continued living had he not done something about it. Now after more than a year living in this house, his own abode, it had truly become his home. He wasn't entirely certain when it had happened, though there had been a moment when it had become entirely too obvious that it had.

It had been a day, almost three months ago now, of more than one revelation, some good, some rather terrifying, even if only to himself; it had been the day he realized he wanted to be a member of a community, a participant in life, not merely an immortal observer.

He had heard of a rather suspicious series of events; the seemingly unexpected departure of the Swan girl, only for the Cullens, the resident vampires, to also leave and return several days later escorting an injured and subdued girl. It hadn't made sense at first until it occurred to Harry that the girl must have discovered the nature of her 'boyfriend' and the rest of the Cullens and attempted to flee. It had seemed, at the time, that the Cullens must not have taken lightly to such a betrayal – whether real or perceived – and had sought the girl out and punished her before returning.

Harry had surprised himself by the amount of fury he had felt when he realized this, though in the end he was glad he had held himself back from acting before he knew precisely what had happened. Even so, he had come just shy of storming into their house, demanding an explanation.

And what an explanation it had been.

The news that there had been a coven of visiting vampires, one of which was particularly hostile, that he had been completely oblivious to had disturbed him greatly. He had been careless. He had grown so tired of his wards blaring into his mind, because the Cullen's bloodlust had registered as hostility to his wards, every time the Cullen boy visited his girlfriend. He had eventually given up and severely reduced the sensitivity of his wards to vampire emotion. So long as the vampire didn't cross his property line, and therefore his third wardline, then he could plot bloody murder and it wouldn't even tweak the wards a bit. He hadn't been completely careless, though, he'd set up a rather weak ward around the Swan house that would, at most, slow any violent vampire and perhaps give them time for second thoughts.

That there had been violent vampires in the area had disturbed him, but what had surprised him most was the feeling of responsibility he felt towards this little town, _his_ town. He had felt guilty for being unaware, for allowing harm to come to _his_ town.

Since that day things had been slightly different. He had found himself wanting to be a member of the community more, truly enjoying his conversations with Mrs. Cooper at the nearby convenience store about some of the plants she'd been experimenting with in her garden. He had found himself leaving his house more often, waving to passing neighbors – and even remembering their names.

He was startled from his contemplation by his doorbell ringing. Harry stepped into the hall and stared, rather incredulously, at his door; the doorbell was really just a prop. His wards should have warned him long ago about anyone passing his property line, in fact, they should have warned him the moment they decided to come here. But they hadn't.

Harry queried his wards, an awkward sensation of delving into what the wards were detecting on a much deeper level than is normally necessary or comfortable. There was apparently a living creature of about human proportions on his doorstep that had no consciousness of any sort. Harry blinked a couple times.

It was the doorbell ringing a second time that broke him from his thoughts and Harry proceeded down the hall curious to see what sort of creature was at his door.

It was Isabella Swan. "Yes?" He asked.

"Can- can I come in?" She looked drained and tired. Harry hadn't interacted with the girl very much at all, even after he had learned of her misadventure with the foreign vampire. He had heard about the search parties and whatnot that had been sent out after her last month, and, although her house was just across the street he hadn't known what was going on at the time. Despite the fact that he was slowly becoming a member of the community it seemed that he was still seen as somewhat of a loner.

Shaking himself from what he was sure was a rather awkwardly intense scrutiny of her haggard appearance, Harry stepped back and held the door open to her. "Certainly, would you like anything to drink? Tea perhaps?" He may not have ever liked Petunia, but she did know how to entertain guests and he had learned a thing or two.

"Um, yeah, thanks." She fidgeted awkwardly with the cuffs of her hoody, half hiding her hands within the sleeves.

Harry led her into the den, "Make yourself comfortable, I'll be right out with the tea and then you can tell me what brings you to my humble abode." He smiled and left before she could respond.

He hummed slightly as he glanced through his rather meager selection of teas, before settling on a selection of a simple Earl Grey, and a Constant Comment he found he liked. He glanced over his shoulder before sliding his wand into his hand and tapping to tea kettle twice, filling and heating it. It was very disconcerting not being able to rely on his wards to tell him where she was, he had tried a subtle legilimency probe when he answered the door, however, if he hadn't known precisely where she was and been staring straight into her eyes he doubted he would have found her mind. It was protected by the smoothest, slipperiest shields he had ever seen and even once he had found them he couldn't get a grip or penetrate them.

Taking the tea service on a rather frilly decorated tray that chafed at his masculinity slightly, Harry proceeded back to the den and his guest. She had seated herself on the couch and seemed to be trying her hardest to project a relaxed air by slouching against it, however, the rigidness of her shoulders and the persistent tapping of her fingers, still half hidden by her sleeves, betrayed her.

"There is an Earl Grey and Constant Comment – the best of your American teas I've found – help yourself to whichever you like." He settled the tray on a mahogany coffee table that was slightly too large for the room and dominated the empty space.

"Um, Thanks." She shuffled to the edge of the couch and reached out to serve herself as Harry settled into a comfortable armchair across from her so they could see each other as they spoke. "Look, um, Mr. Potter, I know you don't know me and I don't really know you, but I don't know who else might be able to help me. So I, um, I was hoping you might." She stopped talking and shifted in her seat giving him a rather hopeful look as she took a large gulp of her tea to busy her hands.

Harry gave a small smile; it felt strange not to be the awkward teenager anymore. "It's Harry, and after that rather informative introduction I find myself surprisingly unenlightened." He suppressed a slight smirk as she blushed and made to explain.

"I know what you are and I was hoping you could help me find Edward." At Harry's arched eyebrow she continued her explanation. "You see Edward told me what you were before he…" She swallowed convulsively for a moment before bringing herself to say the words, "before he left. He said that I should come to you if I can't get in contact with him or any of the other Cullens."

Harry grimaced slightly. "So let me get this straight. You want me to help you find your vampire boyfriend that ditched you and skipped town?" She flinched at his rather callous description of events. Harry sighed. "Look, if you and your boyfriend are having domestic issues it's really none of my business. You just need to get over him and get back to your life; not all relationships last, especially not when you're so young."

"You don't understand, I can't go on without him." She spoke quietly with a desperate edge to her voice.

Harry blinked a couple times and had a hard time suppressing a snort of amusement, "Melodramatic much?" She gave him a look of utter betrayal at this comment, and he couldn't hold back his amusement this time. "If you truly feel that way about the boy then you have more issues than I can help you with." The idea of being so utterly dependant on someone was something that bothered Harry more than he wanted to admit; he hadn't really allowed himself to depend on anyone since he'd learned the truth from Dumbledore. "If you feel that way about him and he doesn't about you then it's better to get over him now before you do something irreversible and get stuck in a unequal or unrewarding relationship. On the other hand if he feels the same about you then he will inevitably make his way back to you, no matter what drove him away in the first place, and in the mean time you aren't doing either he or yourself any favors by pining away for him." He glanced down at his empty cup, wondering when he'd had the time to finish it, as she thought through what he'd said. By her rather dejected look he guessed she didn't like it. "Come on," he gestured for her to stand. "I've given my wizardly wisdom for the day, and now I think it is time that you go and talk to your friends; even I have heard of your deplorable social behavior over the last month." She blinked, seemingly surprised, whether because she just realized her behavior or because she thought no one else had noticed he really didn't know. Her surprise, however, allowed him to easily steer her out to the door without much trouble. "You are welcome here any time you want to talk about something other than your dependence on your boyfriend, or if there truly is an emergency then I shall do my best to be of aid." He paused slightly and when she made no move to leave, spoke rather firmly, "Good day, Ms. Swan."

She came to herself and quickly left, he was almost disappointed when she didn't request he call her Elizabeth; he had just watched the movie the previous night and was rather impressed with the accuracy with which the it had portrayed the curse of the Aztec Gold. Although he was certain that the gold had been destroyed almost two centuries ago (at least that is what the ministry published - no one is quite sure what all is hidden away in the Department of Mysteries).

He hadn't lied though, she would most definitely be welcome back, he had spent most of their conversation attempting to figure out her mental shields and had made almost no progress whatsoever. It would be interesting to investigate exactly what it was she could do.

Harry hummed as he shut the door behind her, his features morphing into another grimace; it seemed in the interim he would need to modify his wards again so that they registered her presence.

**A/N I know absolutely nothing about tea (I can count the number of times I've had it on my hands…), so if I've said something incredibly stupid about them in this chapter tell me. ****Also did everyone recognize my reference to Elizabeth ('cus if you didn't I should probably take it out).**

**Please review.**


	7. Chapter Six

_- May 1994 -_

"_Ah, Harry, I'll be right with you, however, I must first find some strawberries – Fawkes is being very demanding today." I glanced back at where Dumbledore was feverishly shuffling through his cupboard and barely suppressed my guffaw of laughter. Fawkes was sitting on Dumbledore's head, somehow managing to still seem regal and maintain his balance all at once._

"_Headmaster?" The word came out choked and incredulous._

"_Fawkes tells me that I haven't been paying enough attention to him of late, and I have some very valuable books that I don't want to become very valuable ash."_

_My eyes strayed to his bookshelf, which I knew, from the last time here, was very well warded. My attention returned to the still regally perched immortal firebird and I had no doubt that if the phoenix should want he would be able to pierce those wards. I smirked as I made my way to a seat, it was highly amusing to see Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard of the age –even if not in raw power – being put in his place by a bird. "Take all the time you need, Headmaster, I'm rather enjoying the show." I stiffened in my seat; I couldn't believe I'd said that._

_His muffled chuckle from where his he was still shuffling though various drawers of his cupboard, relieved me. "Aha, here they are." He turned about holding a rather deep dish of the strangest looking strawberries I'd ever seen; they were a bright neon orange color. He settled the dish on a desk near Fawkes' perch that, with a swish of his wand, was at an appropriate height for the phoenix to reach. "Specially grown strawberries that most magical creatures find rather addicting, Fawkes's own physiology means that he isn't chemically addicted, even if he is rather dependant on them. Unfortunately it means they tend to disappear very quickly if left in the hands of the elves." Fawkes added his agreement with a trill that could be nothing but amusement._

_Dumbledore settled behind his desk and seemed to make a supreme effort to project his normal regal and wise air. However, with wisps of his silvery hair escaping from beneath his crumpled hat in all directions, his efforts were an astounding failure. I knew he could tell I was trying not to laugh at him when his face morphed into a pout and he threw a wounded look at Fawkes. I couldn't hold my laughter any longer and shoved my fist into my mouth as I tried to muffle the noise I was making. His wounded look landed on me next. "I- I'm so sorry, sir. It's just that you must admit that you present an interesting sight at the moment." I tried to say it in such a way as he couldn't take offense, though I doubted he would have even had I been honest and told him he looked utterly ridiculous._

_His features shifted into a look of suppressed mirth and his eyes twinkled brightly. "I have little doubt of it. However, there are more serious and less embarrassing matters to be on about." I straightened in my seat and tried valiantly to present a serious façade, though I have no doubt I failed at first. I retrieved his second journal and felt a little guilty about the fact that at some point in the past few months the binding had cracked and the journal no longer sat flat and new looking. I slid it onto his desk and was about to apologize when he tapped the book with his wand and all signs of wear vanished. I blinked for a moment then smiled, glad I hadn't done any permanent damage to his book. "Now that you have read this book most of your further progress will not be made from reading, rather from experience and understanding. So, that having been said, are there any pressing questions you have?"_

_I sat there considering, there had been several questions I'd had, however, I didn't really want him to tell me the answer; I wanted to be able to say I had understood it all or that I could puzzle out the truth for myself. I shook those thoughts off; it wouldn't help me to be stumbling about in such dangerous magic. "Well, sir, I read through the journal and it explained how the legilimencer must share conscious thought with you while they're attempting to access your memories and I understand why they couldn't just go directly to the subconscious – because there are too many thoughts in the subconscious and it thinks too differently than the conscious for the two to be reconciled. I mean I understand that and all, but what I don't really understand is the how one makes their memories stay in their subconscious so that the legilimencer can't reach them. The journal spoke of organizing your memories into categories – though it warned against attempting to imagine the actual means of organization – and setting up barriers around your mind by subjecting the memories and your mind to your will, but I don't understand what that means."_

_Dumbledore blinked, seemingly surprised. He hummed slightly in thought, then muttered under his breath, "There are times I forget you were raised by muggles, despite the fact that I of all people should know." He seemed to shake himself from his thoughts, and I wondered if he had even meant to say that aloud, let alone allow me to hear it. "What many, myself included, take for granted in such writings as this is the basic understanding that magic is the tool with which every witch and wizard exert their will upon the world around them. In this particular case it means that once you learn how to manipulate your own magic with much more finesse and control, you will begin to essentially saturate your mind and memories with your Will – your magic. You will eventually be able to imbue a memory or idea with your magic whilst concentrating on what exactly it is you want done with that memory or thought. Whether it is that you want it to remain hidden within your subconscious until you make a deliberate effort to bring it forth, or if you merely wish it to stay sharp in your mind and not fade with time. Later you will learn to focus your will to essentially encompass your mind in a way that shields it from intrusion; it isn't so much a permanent shield you build around your mind, but a constant exertion of will and way of thinking that will eventually become habit. After a great deal of practice you will find it not only possible but perhaps even easy to maintain such defenses constantly and in many varied forms. One of the most interesting things about occlumency shields is that everyone imagines them differently and thus their Will is slightly different when implementing them." He sat back and watched me as I worked through what he had told me. It certainly made sense; I now understood why there were so many meditation exercises in this second journal that were all about familiarizing one's self with their magic._

_I pondered what I knew of Occlumency, trying to find any other gaps in my understanding that Dumbledore might be able to fill. I knew that it was the normal practice to empty one's own consciousness of thought before one initiated a legilimetic sympathic link, thus making it so that the subject of the link would be unaware of any foreign thoughts; once the link was formed, however, the legilimencer could slowly alter their newly combined conscious to the desired state. It was part of the theory that fascinated me the most; that once the link was formed both parties were really on even footing, and it was only the discipline they each exacted on their own mind that could permit them to come out the victor in either side of the conflict of wills. I had also read that failure to empty one's own mind before the link was formed, or altering the flow of consciousness in the subject too quickly or overtly would result in pain and headaches for both – broadcasting the legilimencer's mental presence, and often making it easier to repel them. "Okay, sir, I think that was the only thing I really couldn't figure out; the rest all makes sense to me."_

"_Excellent, Excellent. Then if that is dealt with for the moment I was hoping you might indulge an old man in his curiosity and tell me, from a student's perspective, how my teachers are doing and what you are learning."_

_I gave him a slightly unimpressed look. He had just recently introduced me to an entire branch of magic all about the manipulation and understanding of the mind, both foreign and native, and he thought I'd buy that he needed me to tell him what students thought; especially when I had learned of this magic from his own extremely well written journals, which included some of his own insights and additions to the age old art. I rolled my eyes, despite all that, there was really no question whether I would humor him or not. "Well I find both Charms and Transfiguration rather frustrating; they both teach near useless spells, specialized to do tasks that we would normally never need. I understand perfectly well that it makes the spells easier to learn if there is a smaller range of possible outcomes and that by teaching us such spells they encourage us to seek out useful knowledge outside of class, however, I still wish that we were taught the practical side of the subjects alongside the training tools." I took in Dumbledore's expression, trying to see what he thought of my comments. He showed no reaction but to nod for me to go on. "I definitely like Professor Lupin better than his predecessors; however, even though it is also one of my best classes I don't really enjoy Defense Against the Dark Arts. The class isn't really what it is advertised as – instead of truly learning how to defend ourselves, we learn to recognize magical threats and what their weaknesses are. From what I understand of the course even the seventh years wouldn't last seconds in even the most junior of dueling courts; the few curses, jinxes, and whatnot we learn in defense are really not meant for true dueling or combat, again it goes back to the practical aspects of Charms and Transfiguration, which can be much more effective combat tools, as you yourself have said." He still showed no outward reaction to what I was saying, and it began to make me a bit annoyed; if he was going to ask such a question, then he should at least pretend to consider what I was saying. "I love Hagrid, you know that, but his class is a joke, and I'm not all that sure it was ever anything else, even when he wasn't the one teaching it, for any but the very few students who are interested in working with magical animals. All the dangerous animals that a wizard might stumble across are already covered in Defense." I really hated to have to say that, but it was true; hippogriffs might be fascinating, but when their worldwide population was less than two thousand and all of them existed either in some sort of magical reserve or as domesticated pets, there really wasn't a need for the average wizard to know any more than their name and most basic features. I sighed, but as Dumbledore still sat waiting I continued on. "Arithmancy and Ancient Runes are actually two of the only classes I'm actually happy with, however, even with them I feel that there should be some changes made. I think waiting until third year for them is too late, and both are classes that everyone should have at the very least a basic understanding of. Arithmancy would be a great help to everyone, including new students, in learning just what and how our spells work, and what can be done with Ancient Runes is only really limited by your understanding of them, so the earlier we start building that understanding the better._

"_As of right now we are still stuck in the most basic of Arithmatic calculations, and even though the arithmancy of power growth we are currently learning is fascinating, it isn't quite as useful as the more complex spell theory that we won't get to until next year at the earliest." I wasn't just saying that, the theory behind the development of a wizard's power was incredibly simple and incredibly fascinating – and it had helped me understand Dumbledore's views on a wizard's power. The theory stated that every living thing is conceived without magic or a soul – the two are linked as it is from the connection between soul and body that all magic comes; this has been proven time and again when a person's magic immediately begins to deteriorate and leave them upon receiving a Dementor's Kiss. Some speculate that magic is the excess energy not needed to anchor the soul to the body, and that magical beings therefore must have stronger souls, however most non-purebloods didn't hold to that. The mechanics of the process aren't well understood, however, what is understood is that sometime between two and four months a developing fetus will gain a soul and their magic will begin developing. From that point on abortion becomes illegal in the wizarding world and the infant will gain half their remaining potential approximately every seven years. Meaning that the instant someone gains their soul they have no magic, seven years later they will have approximately fifty percent of their full potential. Seven years after that they will have about seventy-five percent of their potential, then it will be eighty-seven percent, and so on and so forth. They don't grow by leaps, but in a smooth growth-curve over that time – the rate of growth constantly slowing so that even were someone to live a thousand years they would never actually achieve a full hundred percent; though the fraction of a percent that remained unachieved would be miniscule. In general people achieve more than ninety-five percent their full potential by the time they are thirty years old. _

_I shook myself from the abstract thoughts and returned my attention to Dumbledore; I had said my piece, now it was time to hear his reaction._

"_Yes, not many of those complaints surprise me." He ignored my partially incredulous partially furious glare. "You see what is taught and how it is taught has long been standardized by the Board of Governors, who are most often pureblood and find that heavier course schedules interrupt the teaching of their own family magicks to their heirs. They also don't often see the point in pushing the children so hard until it is reasonably feasible for them to have learned a measure of Occlumency. However, we are incapable of teaching Occlumency here as it is illegal for it to be taught in any form but one-on-one tutoring, as there could be too many possibly fatal mistakes, and we have too few teachers to conceivably tutor each student." He sighed and fiddled with a rather large stack of books on the edge of his desk. "These are several different books on topics that I have more than once proposed be taught here at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, they have repeatedly denied my requests. Unfortunately I bought several copies of each book for presenting to them and now find myself in need of getting rid of them – terribly unfortunate. I shall have to throw them out if they don't disappear as I am not allowed to distribute them." He said this while he stood and moved over to Fawkes, ostensibly to check on his progress with the strawberries._

_I stared back and forth between the books and Dumbledore's turned back with what I'm sure must have been a rather bemused expression. I wasn't sure whether I should be disgusted, indignant, or amused. Either Dumbledore wanted deniability, or he was having fun being unsubtly subtle. Since I was pretty certain Dumbledore could easily either make it seem as if I got the books another way or actually get me the books another way, I figured it was safe to assume that he was playing games. _Goodness, only Dumbledore can get a sane person to ponder on the subtleties of unsubtly delivered subtle hints in a perfectly normal conversation. On second thoughts I hope he can get a sane person to do that, otherwise I'm in trouble._ I quickly retrieved my wand from my pocket and, with a tap and a whispered word, had the books shrunk. I had just managed to squirrel the numerous tomes away in various pockets and resettle myself in my seat when Dumbledore turned back around. He gave a rather impressive impression of surprise. "Would you look at that. The house elves must have heard me and are hoping for a strawberry or two for good service." I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help the amused smile that curved my lips._

_-oOo-_

_A warning to all budding Occlumens is that, no matter what the memory or experience may be, one must never Will it not to be. This is because without very careful direction the magic will often destroy the memory violently, resulting in damage that can lead to degradation of the memory centers of the brain. _

_A more experienced Occlumens will eventually gain the skill necessary to Strip a memory. The process of Stripping a memory will result in separating the memory down into its constituent parts and thereby not only greatly reducing the emotional response the memory might normally provoke, but also allows one to recall specific details from the memory without needing to recall the entire thing. This practice is most often employed by Mind Healers to help individuals recover from traumatic experiences, though it has also been noted that doing this with knowledge can aid in an individual's ability compile one's knowledge and know-how more efficiently. _

_~Excerpt from The Thoughts of My Mind, by Myima Gina Tion_

_-oOo-_

_Magic flew from our wands like droplets from a waterfall, we were wielding our will at a more basic and primal level, with finesse that the average wizard could only ever dream of. The spells had long since become pointless, instead the very elements of the spells were flowing into our wands, cobbling together spells more quickly than most could cast. Torrents of charms flowed from our will, seemingly bringing the room alive and hostile. Transfigurations twisted the familiar forms of the walls and floor into writhing and deadly weapons. Conjurations burst into existence, littering the floor with their destroyed detritus. The very fabric of space was torn and remade to redirect spells, too powerful to be shielded against, away from their target. We had long since trained our subconscious minds to do most of the work, the spells and enchantments coming too fast for our conscious minds to have possibly kept up; instead we barely had to think the result we wanted before other parts of our mind came alive with intent that flowed into our wands to inflict our will upon the universe around us._

_Even as the world twisted and writhed to our whims about us, struggling to unmake our opponent, another titanic struggle was taking place on another plane; our minds crashing against each other with all the finesse of sledgehammers, while smaller tendrils of thought struck and pierced at the other, trying to inflict painful recollections. _

_Anger coursed through my veins, giving strength and direction to my spells. Even as I shuffled along the floor – the duel too fast paced for me to dare turn my back, even for a moment – I swished my wand back and forth, the occasional twirl and jab hardly interrupting the deceptively smooth form as violence spilled forth from its tip. The spells I used were far more vicious this time, scorching and scarring when they missed and deadly if they shouldn't. _

_I conjured a thin shaft of metal and, with barely more than a thought, sent it spinning through the air with such force that it would shake any ward, even as I sent a veritable storm of curses spilling after it. His first two attempts to catch to pole failed before he poured his fear into the third spell and it latched onto the thin metal only feet from him as it shuddered and morphed into a thin shield that immediately buckled under the onslaught. Just as the metal finally shattered he banished it back at me, each piece at a different speed, I didn't bother trying to catch them; with a slashing motion of my arm the air about me shimmered and went opaque as the universe shifted and warped, allowing the pieces of metal to flow around me as if repelled by my presence before they snapped back on course behind my back. _

_When the air cleared I had only an instant to block a sizzling green spell that crackled against my will and blackened my robe when it passed to close. "Come now, Harry, I trained you better than that." He faltered slightly, realizing too late that it was the wrong thing to say. We always bantered in these duels, distracting and pushing, however, we always knew what topics were of limit. He'd said it before of course, but then I hadn't known the truth before._

_White hot fury boiled through my veins more potent than ever before. I snarled viscously at him, cutting off whatever he was about to say. "Careful _Albus_," I said, placing as much scorn into his name as I could. "You wouldn't want any of your stray spells to kill another innocent girl." He staggered back as if he'd been struck, his expression utterly frozen. I didn't even take advantage of the opening. The fury had been snuffed out as if it had never been. I opened my mouth to apologize, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I hadn't meant what I said. But I had meant to hurt him._

_I spun on my heel and stormed from the room without a backward glance. _It would be the last time we would speak to each other before the end of the final battle.

- March 2007 -

Harry turned away from the sheet of complex Arithmetic equations he'd been working on for the past several hours when the wards announced Isabella Swan's presence – really they announced a human body with no mind and intent, which Harry had come to interpret as the rather unique girl.

Since her first visit she had proceeded to return once a month, almost like clockwork, and attempt to convince him that he should help her seek out her missing beau. He'd initially been willing to ignore her repeated and poor arguments in favor of such action in return for the rather fascinating project he'd made of attempting to understand her mind. Almost every occlumens will at some point or another believe they have discovered the ultimate secret to hiding one's mind by concealing it in a misleading nothingness – which they inevitably discover is about as effective against even the most mediocre of legilimens as standing naked in the middle of a crowd and shouting for all to hear that there is 'nothing to see here.' Thus having happened across the most curious mind of Ms. Bella Swan, which he found himself repeatedly incapable of invading in even the most minor of ways, he had found himself absorbed in the mystery of it. However, when, by the time the new year had made its way in and he had already managed to imitate the effect, even if poorly, and determined that he would likely never meet with any further success, as it seemed it was something unique to Ms. Swan's mind, his patience had worn thin. He had considered, briefly, that her obsession and dependence upon her boyfriend had something to do with her mind functioning differently than other people's, but in the end he had concluded that she was just being a teenage girl.

He was at and opening the door before she got the chance to ring the doorbell, a particularly obnoxious one that he detested, but had never had the need to replace. "Well, hello again, Ms. Swan. I wasn't expecting you for another couple of days yet." Really he hadn't been expecting her at all, in the last month she seemed to have started coming out of her shell, and he had rather hoped it would be the end of her repeated visits.

She seemed slightly flustered and rushed. "I'm not here about that. I think something really wrong might be going on with my friend down at the reservation. There's this gang that he didn't want to be a part of and was afraid was going to target him for recruitment, I guess, and now he's hanging out with them and acting all different. I think Sam Uley got to him." She delivered this all in a rush of breath, as if she thought saying it more quickly would make him more likely to help her.

Harry gazed at her for a moment, before asking in a politely quizzical tone, "Isn't your father a police _Chief_, who would be much more suited to the pursuit of cracking-down on local gangs." He smiled, and knew by his own thoughts that there was a slightly condescending edge to the smile.

She bit her lip, looking like she was holding back a growl. "I already spoke to him, however, everyone thinks the best of Sam and his gang." At his raised eyebrow she hurried to continue, "Everyone, except for the people that end up joining. Jacob, my friend, says that his friend. Embry, wanted nothing to do with the gang, and then he was home sick for a couple of weeks and when he came back he was hanging out with the gang. And now Jacob has been home sick and is acting differently and avoiding me."

Harry wondered if she would start coming over every month to try and get him to investigate her second boyfriend as well if he said no. He glanced at the clock. He had time and the Arithmency certainly wasn't going anywhere. This was much closer and easier than tracking down a coven of vampires that didn't want to be found; he had looked, even if he hadn't said anything to Bella about it, but he had never paid all that much attention to the vampire coven even when he thought he might still have to kill them, so he hadn't really known where to start looking in the first place. "Very well, why don't you drive me out to the reservation and your friend in that beast of a truck of yours." She frowned at the jibe at her truck, but seemed too happy to be getting her way to say anything.

She positively scampered off down the path, and Harry snorted when she forced herself to walk carefully when she nearly fell twice in as many steps.

The trip to the reservation was for the most part an awkward affair, the silence being butchered by the roar of the trucks engine but otherwise unbroken. Bella glanced to Harry as she pulled across the road to drive up to a tall boy walking along it wearing a baseball cap, "He is – was a friend of Jacob Black and Embry Call before Sam got to them." She said in explanation.

Harry looked at her sharply when she mentioned black, but quickly recovered himself; it wasn't like it was an uncommon name. He shifted himself over so he was sitting more towards the center of the truck, "Just pretend I'm not here." As he said this the seat of the truck seemed to warp and stretch slightly, so that it could now comfortably seat three. Bella stared open mouthed at it for a moment, before tearing her eyes back to the road and Quil's bleak face.

"Oh, hey, Bella," he greeted dully.

"Um, Hi, Quil… Are you okay?"

"Fine." He said unconvincingly.

"Can I give you a ride somewhere?" She offered sending Harry a look, surprised that Quil hadn't said anything about him, or the trucks new dimensions.

"Sure, I guess," he mumbled, before shuffling around to the front of the truck and climbing into the passenger side.

"Where to?"

"My house is on the north side, back behind the store," he said.

"Have you seen Jacob today?" She asked eagerly, she was surprised by how easy she was finding it to follow Harry's instructions and ignore him.

Quil stared out the windshield a moment before responding. "From a distance."

"A distance?" She asked, already expecting the answer.

"I tried to follow them – he was with Embry." He spoke quietly, almost too quietly with the roar of the engine in the background. "I know they saw me. But they turned and just disappeared into the trees. I don't think they were alone – I think Sam and his crew might have been with them.

"I've been stumbling around the forest for an hour, yelling for them. I just barely found the road again when you drove up."

"So Sam did get to him." She said through gritted teeth, her hands tightening around the steering wheel in impotent fury.

Quil stared at her, surprised. "You know about that?"

She nodded. "Jake told me… before."

"Before." He repeated, with a defeated and wistful tone.

"Jacob's just as bad as the others now?" She asked.

"Never leaves Sam's side." He said as he spat out the open window.

"And before that – did he avoid everyone? Was he acting upset?"

He gazed out the windshield in front of him, his eyes trailing listlessly on the passing scenery. "Not for as long as the others. Maybe one day. Then Sam caught up with him."

"What do you think it is? Drugs or something?"

"I can't see Jacob or Embry getting into anything like that… but what do I know? What else could it be? And why aren't the old people worried?" He said, a bit of frustration tingeing his words, but his eyes showing his fear. "Jacob didn't want to be a part of this…cult. I don't understand what could change him." He turned away from windshield and gazed at Bella, frightened and as if asking for reassurance. _"I don't want to be next._"

Bella shivered slightly, her own face mirroring his fear. "Are your parents any help."

He grimaced. "Right. My grandfather's on the council with Jacob's dad. Sam Uley is the best thing that ever happened to this place, as far as he's concerned."

They were in La Push now, the truck crawling along the empty road as the two spoke their fears.

"I'll get out now," Quil said as the villages only store came into sight, not too far ahead. "My house is right over there." He gestured toward the small wooden house behind the store. She pulled over to the shoulder and he jumped out.

"I'm going to wait for Jacob," she told him, determinedly.

"Good luck." He slammed the car door and shuffled off, his shoulders slumped and head bent.

"Well that was certainly interesting and informative," said Harry, now sitting again in the recently vacated passenger seat. Bella jumped as she stared at him, suddenly reminded that he'd been there all along, and not understanding how she could have forgotten.

She shook off her surprise and pulled a U-turn, heading toward the Blacks' house. "Now do you believe that something is going on?" She didn't expect an answer, and he didn't give one.

Stopping in front of Jacob's house she killed the motor and rolled down her window to get a breeze going. It was a particularly stuffy day and she needed the outside air. "I'm going to wait for Jacob to show up. His dad said he was out with… the crew. But this is the only way as he's been avoiding me." She answered to his questioning eyebrow when she put her feet up on the dashboard and settled to wait.

Harry nodded and made himself more comfortable, though he forwent placing his own feet anywhere but on the floor of the truck.

Bella waved and smiled at a man who had spotted the truck through a front window, harry recognized him from around the time he had moved to Forks. The wave and grin had a mocking edge to them that said "You can't get rid of me." The man's confused gaze narrowed and he allowed the curtain to fall shut.

Bella glanced at Harry, but seemed to decide he wasn't going to entertain her and got out a pen and some paper from her backpack and began doodling.

She hadn't been at it long when there was a sharp tap against the door.

She jumped and looked up.

"What are you doing here, Bella? And who is he?" Jacob growled his head jerking in Harry's direction.

Bella turned her head swiftly and stared at Harry, surprised; she had forgotten him again. Harry seemed just as surprised as she, and for a moment she wondered absurdly if he'd forgotten himself too.

That couldn't keep her attention for long though as her thoughts were drawn towards the numerous changes that Jacob had gone through in the weeks since she'd seen him last. Harry barely recognized the boy he had seen a little over a year ago, even with the help already having recognized and identified his father had been. The boy, or rather young man, had to have gained a more than a dozen kilos in that year, and none of it was fat.

"Jacob?" Bella whispered, ignoring his questions.

He glared at her for a moment before his eyes shifted to Harry and the glares intensity increased.

Behind Jacob stood four others, all tall and deeply tanned with black hair chopped short. They almost looked like siblings, and their resemblance was only emphasized by their like expressions of _dis_like. Except for the oldest; Sam Uley stood in the very back his expression serene instead. Bella glared at Sam for a moment before exhaling raggedly.

"What do you want?" Jacob demanded again, his attention returned to Bella.

"I wanted to talk to you." She said, almost breathily, seemingly distracted.

"Go ahead," he hissed through gritted teeth, glaring viciously.

"Alone!" She hissed back, having gotten back her voice.

"What about him then," he gestured angrily at Harry. Again she turned to stare at him, every time she looked away from him he somehow seemed to fade from her mind almost immediately.

Harry smiled. "Why don't I take a stroll, shall I?" He said slipping from the car and wandering off. Bella blinked, that hadn't been what she was expecting.

She turned back to Jacob. "There, he's gone, now I want to talk to you. Alone."

He looked behind him along with the other three, their gazes locked on Sam; waiting for his reaction.

Sam nodded once, seemingly unaffected. He spoke briefly in what must have been the native Quileute dialect, and turned and walked into Jacob's house, followed closely by all but Jacob.

"Okay." Jacob said, some of his anger seeming to drain away, leaving him seeming more hopeless.

Bella took a deep breath. "You know what I want to know." _What possessed you to suddenly join Sam when you had been so opposed to it just weeks ago._

He didn't answer; his expression bitter.

The silence stretched for a while before Bella forced herself to break it. "Can we walk?" He didn't respond but she stepped out of the car anyway and started walking towards the trees to the north.

Harry stood not five feet away from the truck, invisible and undetectable to all. He moved to lean against the car, his listening charm on Bella keeping him aware.

"Let's get this over with," Jacob's voice came across hard.

There was a short pause before he spoke again. "It's not what you think." He said, sounding suddenly weary. "It's not what I thought – I was way off."

"So what is it then?"

"I can't tell you."

"I thought we were friends."

"We _were_."

"But you don't need friends anymore; you have Sam. Isn't that nice – you've always looked up to him so much."

"I didn't understand him before."

"And now you've seen the light. Hallelujah." Her voice was mocking and slightly hysterical.

"It wasn't like I thought it was. This isn't Sam's fault. He's helping me as much as he can."

"He's helping you?" Skepticism nearly dripped from her words. "Naturally."

There was another pause in the conversation, the sound of ragged, deep breathing filling the space. "Jacob, please," she whispered. "Won't you tell me what happened? Maybe I can help."

"No one can help me now." The words were a low moan; his voice broke.

"What did he do to you?" She exclaimed, frustration evident.

"Don't touch me." It was whispered but sharp.

"Is Sam catching?" Came her response, mocking and petulant all at once.

"Stop blaming Sam." He snapped back.

"Then who should I blame," she asked.

"You don't want to hear that." There was an odd quality to his words that evoked apprehension.

"The hell I don't!" She exclaimed. "I want to know, and I want to know _now_."

"You're wrong." He said, denying her words.

"Don't you dare tell me I'm wrong – I'm not the one who got brainwashed! Tell me now whose fault this all is, if it's not your precious Sam!"

Harry sighed, the conversation was turning personal and he didn't need to hear it. With a flick of his wand he canceled the spell, ready to wait for them to return.

They were only gone for a few more minutes, but when they returned Jacob seemed to flee into the building and Bella was left standing; waiting for something.

Eventually, after an interminable span of time, the elder Black rolled out in his wheel chair and called out to Bella. "Charlie just called, Bella. I told him you were on your way home."

She drove off without even trying to find Harry. He didn't mind; he had other ways of getting back, and now that he had seen the place he could come back any time.

The boys had had the strangest Auras. They were more powerful than most squibs, but even the oldest and most powerful would struggle to get a few sparks out of a wand. What had been so strange though was how volatile they had been. Like they were more closely linked to their emotions than normal people's, or perhaps their emotions were just more potent.

That hadn't been the only oddity; their Auras had been particularly responsive to the Uley's own; the leader.

**A/N a lot of the dialogue and descriptions are taken directly from the book New Moon, and this chapter takes place in the relatively small portion of the story after Jacob has become a shapeshifter (Tell me if I need to put in more in text clues and whatnot for every reader to pick up on everything).**

**Also I don't know whether this is unique to me or not, but I tend to pay particular attention to summaries of stories that have more than one review per 200 words. (Hint, Hint: I'd like my story to be one of those - though I'd settle for 1 review per 500 words) Review and tell me what you think please.**


	8. Chapter Seven

_-June 1994-_

_I sighed as I leaned back from my unsteady desk. I had scattered well over a dozen books across its surface, nine of which had been diligently annotated for presentation to a Board of Governors in a thin spidery scrawl. The books ranged in topic from _Advanced Arithmatic Spell Composition_ and _The Creation of a Runic Schema_ to _Rituals, A Reference,_ and_ _all of them were on topics that normally weren't focused upon within Hogwarts' halls._

_I scrubbed my face furiously and repositioned my glasses, trying to wipe the tiredness from my mind; I had been at this for nearly six hours straight, since I had returned to my room after dinner. _

_Dumbledore had written footnotes in each of the books he had, for lack of a better word, given me, and even though the footnotes were supposedly meant to help convince Hogwarts' governors to accept the books, each note had invariably drawn my attention to something I hadn't at first picked up on. With that in mind it hadn't taken me long to realize that the books had most likely been marked not with some governor in mind, but for me. _

_My frustration stemmed from the last note in the Runes book; the entire book was about the impracticality of attempting to create one's own runic alphabet and how such things were not done by competent wizards in this day and age when the Ancient Runes we use have been so long perfected in accordance with the principles of Arithmancy. And yet there stood Dumbledore's note:_

Although no average student would ever be expected to create their own Runic Schema, it is important for them to understand the sources and weaknesses of the Runic languages and, for those few who go above and beyond, to understand the limitations of any language they might create.

_It was a roundabout way of saying it, but I read it to mean that he expected me to create my own runic schema. With that in mind I had read back through the book and picked apart the advantages which were never directly stated. For example the book spoke of newly created runic languages often clashing with a new users magic – the book describes it as suddenly filling a river with oil instead of water and expecting the fauna to still flourish – the obvious, if slightly obstructed counterargument would therefore be that if a language can be in conflict with someone's magic then the opposite should be true; that it could be specialized for a certain person to be more in tune with their magic. Also the book mentioned the impracticality of a unique language as then too few people would be able to understand and use it, clearly leading to the opposite realization that then very few people would be able to counteract it easily. Finally the book made it quite clear that one of the strengths of _Ancient_ Runes, was that their influence had spread so far that you could write the same runic sentence or spell almost anywhere on earth and get the same result, whereas the a newly created language would be next to useless even so much as a mile away from totems that gave each symbol its own magic and meaning._

_So here I was confronted with the, _oh so easy, _task of attempting to understand the mechanics of creating my own runic language. Which, from what I could understand, involved a great deal of enchantment of the symbol you want to use so that you can imbue that symbol with enough magic to leak into the ambient magic and make it possible to use that same symbol later to, in essence, reference the magical power and meaning that you had imbued the totem with. The book had described how each subsequent use of the symbol would strengthen the inherent magic of the totem and its presence in ambient magic to the point that it would eventually become so prevalent that the totem would become either unnecessary or so saturated with magic that it would cease to exist physically and instead become imprinted upon ambient magic itself. This is what had supposedly happened with Ancient Runes and the process was believed to take well over a thousand years at the very fastest._

_I sighed again, this was taking too long and making my head hurt too much. It was much more pleasant to think of the ritual book which described how one could manipulate either their own magic or ambient magic to achieve a specific result. Most rituals were about the improvement of one's own body, making sure that with the minimal amount of magic a person could boost the efficiency at which their body functioned, and, if they were willing to use the magic, even boost it to unheard of feats, such as inhuman strength or endurance. While most rituals were incredibly complex they still were somewhat similar to potions in that you can follow previously perfected instructions to get the wanted result. _

_At least that was what I had thought until I had read another of Dumbledore's wonderful little side-notes in which he had basically stated that tweaking the rituals for each individual's situation, body, magic, mind, and soul often resulted in much better results._

_It hadn't taken me too terribly long going back and forth between the two books to realize that with all the runes used in rituals and Dumbledore's challenge to create my own runic system it seemed obvious that having runes attuned to my own intent and magic would be one such way of tweaking the ritual to achieve superior results._

_All of that had to wait, though, because if I didn't get some sleep soon I wouldn't be rested enough tomorrow to make breakfast properly for the Dursleys and I really didn't need any more trouble from them._

_- August 31__st__ 1994 -_

_ I looked about my room again glad Aunt Petunia and the rest of the Dursleys avoided the place like the plague, otherwise I would have been in tons of trouble for the hundreds of tiny symbols scrawled across the walls, some in Elder Futharc, the most common Runic Alphabet of Ancient Runes in Great Britain, and some my own ideas of symbols that I might be satisfied to someday enchant when I returned to Hogwarts and was once more permitted to do magic. I hadn't actually been able to start making my own runic language because of the ban on underage wizardry, but I had several dozen sheets of paper full of my ideas and plans for once I returned to Hogwarts. _

_By now my own rather impressive, for my age, grasp of Occlumency meant that the actual sheets were just a back up to my virtually perfect memory of them, however, I found that despite the fact I could remember it all easily it still helped a great deal to be able to write and reorganize my ideas on paper before committing them to memory. Especially as it took several minutes of dedicated effort and meditation to even reach the state of mind in which I had enough control to imbue the memories with the appropriate Will._

_Leaning forward I finished the runic sentence that spiraled and stretched around the entire room and allowed my magic, with just the slightest of mental pushes, to flood the array and bring it to life. I smiled in satisfaction as the runes covering my walls became hazy and difficult to focus on, for someone like my aunt who had no idea they were there in the first place and no magic within her own mind to counteract the runic arrays influence the walls would appear perfectly blank and clean. Just in time for me to finish packing for leaving on the Hogwarts express tomorrow too._

_- September 1994 -_

_ The second day back at Hogwarts I opened my trunk to find several books in it I hadn't packed. For a moment I thought the house-elves might have made a mistake and given me the wrong trunk, but I quickly dismissed that. When I opened the books I discovered they were covered in the now exceptionally familiar handwriting of the Headmaster._

_The books were just what I needed, too. One was a journal detailing well over four-dozen different rituals that had been arithmetically reconstructed step by step – by the familiar scrawl I could only assume these were all rituals Dumbledore either performed or considered performing himself. In fact, one interesting and incredibly simple one had been a ritual that permitted the individual to fall into a deep restful sleep almost instantly when they wanted and kept the person in the most restorative and restful forms of sleep, by manipulating the chemicals in the brain – significantly reducing the time anyone would need to waste either waiting to fall asleep or in fact sleeping itself. The best thing about the ritual was that it was easy to perform and required virtually no magic whatsoever when actively used, meaning that it never taxed the user's reserves._

_Another pair of rituals that were included intrigued me just as much. The first was an extremely complex ritual involving freely given Phoenix tears that would essentially teach the individuals body and magic how to create its own healing tears, except these wouldn't fall from the eyes but instead flow through the veins. This ritual unlike the first took a rather large chunk of the user's magic and even then only produced a small amount of the incredible healing liquid to flow through the veins. The advantages were self evident, near immunity to almost all poisons sicknesses and diseases along with a vastly improved rate of healing, and finally near perfect health throughout one's entire life. By no means was it a miracle cure for all injuries, any mortal wound would still likely kill you, it just meant the little things would heal quickly and flawlessly. The second ritual that was designed with the first in mind was a much less taxing one, designed to regulate where in the body the phoenix tears were and directing them to the sight of a wound in the case of injury, thus boosting the tears efficacy and the speed of healing in such an event._

_The second book was all about the proper procedure to enchant one's own runic language and then how to effectively use that language once you had done so, which would considerably shorten the time it would take for me to get my own system up and running._

_It had all seemed great, very useful, and incredibly interesting and for the past few months I had somehow managed to lose myself in my study and fascination with these subjects and lost sight of the true reason behind it all. One simple scrawled note tucked into the cover of the second book had managed to bring it all crashing back down onto me._

I have made these books available to you against what some might consider better judgment and legality, however, events move apace and we seem to be running out of time for more pleasant endeavors. It would be advisable for you to attempt to perfect and implement the tools these books provide before the end of the year.

_o0O0o_

_Throughout history wizards have always been fascinated by becoming closer to nature most notably in the form of becoming an animal. This has resulted in many different magical arts that all fall under the category of Animaggery. In the ages that Wizard kind has experimented and perfected this art, three different avenues or ways in which to become an animal through magic have become prevalent. The first, easiest, and most expedient is through the use of a complex potion, a bit of the animal you wish to become, and then an extended period of training ones magic to allow the transformation the potion unlocked the potential for within your body; this method can take anywhere from sixth months to nearly a decade to work. The second, far more difficult practice, is one developed by the Native American shamans in which an individual chooses an animal that they feel most represents themselves, emotionally and behaviorally, that they then study in depth and, through intensive training and discipline use their own magic to imitate; this second method is a life-long pursuit that was deemed a success even if the individual never managed a transformation but was able to die at peace with his own nature. It is widely known that for those few who do truly succeed in this method often gain a near unparalleled control of themselves and is proven to have many mental benefits for the individual. The last, most dangerous, and also potentially most beneficial method is classified as a ritual._

_To successfully complete the ritual the caster must first achieve a rapport with the creature and then must convince it to bond to the witch or wizard, because of this and other results of the ritual it is often that the more intelligent and therefore magical the creature, the better. Once a positive relationship has been developed the wizard must convince the creature – or perhaps more accurately stated come to an agreement with the creature – that it is beneficial and desirable for both individuals to become one. Once that has been done the caster need only perform a highly dangerous and complex ritual to bind and blend both caster and creature mind, body, soul, and magic. This is where a willing and aware creature is most necessary as an unwilling creature will either result in death or insanity. A list of only a few of the most common ways this ritual could go wrong would be the binding of a creature too different in temperament resulting in insanity, the binding of a creature not intelligent enough resulting in a marked reduction in the caster's intelligence, or the binding of a creature too instinctual resulting in a caster far too driven by those instincts to see reason. Despite the many and varied dangers of the ritual and the fact that the ritual was outlawed merely three years after its creation in the year 307 A.D. it has persisted to this day because of the incredible benefits it can give the user if successful. Among these benefits include a marked increase in lifespan, magical power, and physical strength as none of the life-force, magic, or strength is lost when the merging is done. (notably it was proven that if the magical creature is merged with when not fully grown the magic, life-force, and strength of the creature will continue to grow according to what its natural development would have been, this is highly discouraged though as if there is too great a difference between the ages and levels of development of the two bonding creatures it can create problems both emotionally and mentally later in life._

_It is also interesting to note that the event which resulted in the outlawing of the ritual was a botched attempt by a wizard to blend with an infant Dire Wolf. Not only was the attempt to blend with an infant, too young to oppose the blending a mistake, but the ritual the wizard used itself was riddled with errors and mistakes, which, in conjunction with the effects of the full moon under which the wizard inadvisably performed the ritual, resulted in the creation of the first werewolf. While the general ritual has been studied time and again over the years the factors and unknowns of precisely what the wizard in question did has, for so long, evaded understanding that most have given up hope of curing werewolves through that avenue. However, because of the nature of the ritual used and the curse itself, werewolves will often see some of the benefits of the ritual – these include superior physical strength and slightly lengthened life-span, though it has also been noted that those less suited to the wolves corrupted and insane mind that gets transferred along with the disease often have much increased adverse reactions to the transformations._

_~Excerpt from Albus Dumbledore's Journal of Rituals_

o0O0o

- March 2007 -

Harry's cell went off loudly in the quiet of his kitchen, he'd been having a nice late breakfast, enjoying the simplicity of the act and day; the simplicity that didn't include a call from one of the very few people that had the number. It rang a second time and Harry sighed in annoyance as he dropped his fork and picked up the small device, flipping it open and glancing at the number; it was Bella Swan, whatever possessed him to give her his number he was really regretting right now.

"Hello." There was no enthusiasm in his tone, faked or otherwise.

"Um, hi Harry. I have some news that I think you should really hear. I think you could help and, um, it's kinda important."

He waited, but when it became clear she wasn't about to say anything he asked, "What?"

"Oh, um, well you see I can't really say, and, um, it would be better if you came here."

Harry glanced at his unfinished breakfast and rubbed his eyes, holding in another sigh. "Where is here?"

His resigned tone must have encouraged her as she responded cheerfully, giving him instructions to meet her at an out of the way dirt road near the Quileute reservation.

o0O0o

Bella flipped her phone shut and smiled over at Jacob, "He'll be here in a few minutes."

Jacob frowned unhappily, "Bella I really don't think you should be telling anyone. It's one thing for me to give you hints and for you to figure it out, because you're already aware of the bloodsuckers, but to just bring someone else. Sam's really not going to be happy."

She smiled back at him, "You don't understand, he's another one; a myth not so mythical. I know you don't like the vampires, but Ed- they told me about him before they left and told me that I should go to him if anything were to happen. He might not be as dangerous as a vampire, or even able to turn into a big bad wolf," she smiled impishly as she said this. "But I really do think he'll be able to help you take care of Victoria, if you insist on going after her." She paused to see that he was taking it in rather well, despite being slightly surprised that she was apparently talking about another mythical being. "Besides he's not a monster." She paused and winced. "That came out wrong. I meant to say that all the myths with his kind aren't monster myths, like vampires and werewolves are." She frowned again. "Though judging by how accurate those myths are, that might not be a good thing."

Jacob's laugh at that was cut short when he suddenly stiffened. "They're here. Let's go." He got out of the truck, heading around to the front of it and Bella scrambled around the other side to stand close to him. He took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly, "Here we go."

She clung close to Jacob's side as the other members of the pack strode silent and predatory from the trees, none of them happy to see her. The only one not hostile was Sam, who led the group, but remained seemingly unaffected by her presence. "What have you done, Jacob?" he demanded.

Before Jacob had a chance to respond all the boys froze and turned towards the woods, watching intently. Harry stepped out of the trees calmly his gaze taking in everyone present. "So why have you asked me here, Ms. Swan?"

One of the boys snarled wordlessly and shoved past Sam, "See what you've done, Jacob. See what she's done." He was shaking from head to foot, his fists clenched tightly and vibrating. Jacob took a step to the side, shielding Bella from the boy's glare, however, the act only seemed to infuriate him further. "Right, protect _her_!" A shudder heaved through his body, and he threw his head back and growled like an animal.

"Paul!" Sam and Jacob shouted together.

Paul seemed to fall forward, vibrating violently. Halfway to the ground, there was a loud ripping noise, and the boy exploded outwards.

Dark silver fur blew out from the boy, coalescing into a shape more than five-times his size, a massive crouched shape of a great wolf ready to spring.

Not a second passed before Jacob was running straight at the wolf. He ignored Bella's scream of "Jacob!" and leapt forward, diving headfirst into the air, only for the dive to be interrupted by his own violent transformation into a gigantic russet brown wolf – his shredded and tattered clothes falling like confetti around its massive form.

The two wolves collided thunderously snapping and snarling at each other angrily. Bella stumbled towards the pair shouting for Jacob and ignoring Sam's warnings to stay.

Jacob seemed to have the upper hand as the two wolves snapped at each other's throats; he was visibly bigger and stronger. He rammed his shoulder against the smaller gray wolf again and again, slowly herding him away and towards the trees on the other side of the road.

"Take them to Emily's," Sam shouted towards the other boys who were watching the conflict with rapt attention. Jacob had successfully forced the gray wolf off the road and they were quickly disappearing into the forest, though the sound of the snarls was still loud in the air. Sam ran after them, kicking off his shoes on the way, as he darted into the trees, quivering from head to toe.

The sound of the fight cut off abruptly moments after Sam had left their view. The sudden silence was broken by one of the boy's raucous laughter.

Bella stared at him, incredulous. Vaguely she recognized him as Embry Call.

He seemed to take greater amusement in her expression. "Well there's something you don't see every day," he snickered.

"I do," another of the boys, Jared, grumbled. "Every single day."

"Aw, Paul doesn't lose his temper _every _day," Embry disagreed, still grinning. "Maybe two out of three."

Jared stopped to pick something white up off the ground. He held it up toward Embry; it dangled in limp strips from his hand. "Totally shredded," Jared said. "Billy said this was the last pair he could afford – guess Jacob's going barefoot now."

The boys continued to banter as they began collecting the shredded remains of Jacob and Paul's outfits along with Sam's discarded shoes.

"Fascinating, I assume this is what you asked me here for?" Harry addressed to Bella.

"Wha-" She shook herself, pulling away from the shock of the two wolves' confrontation. "Um, yeah. I, um, I thought you could help."

Harry smiled, picking up a still intact shoe and tossed it over to one of the remaining boys. They were watching him warily, clearly unsure what to think of him.

"Let's go," one of them said, "We'll take you to Emily's, she's always got food and Sam will be by soon with the other two." He glanced at Bella's truck and asked, "Mind giving us a ride?"

"No problem," she choked out.

One of the boys gave her a concerned look and convinced her to allow him to drive the car. Harry ignored them mostly, jumping into the back of the truck even as he continued gazing absently into the trees where the other wolves had disappeared.

The ride was quick and uneventful as Jared continued watching Harry closely and Harry ignored him in favor of vaguely contemplating the wolves and all he knew about Animaggery. He supposed if it was possible to screw up the ritual and get a feral-communicable-werewolf-curse as a result then it could be entirely possible to get something like what he just saw; even if he still wasn't entirely certain what he had just seen.

At the end of a narrow dirt lane was a tiny house that had definitely seen better days, possessing only one narrow window beside and weathered blue door. Despite this the house had a cheerful look given to it by a flower box overflowing with bright orange and yellow marigolds.

The boys eagerly headed towards the house followed closely by both Harry and Bella. Entering without knocking they came upon a young woman with flowing black hair and coppery skin standing at the counter, popping large muffins out of a tin and placing them on a paper plate.

She turned from the counter, holding the paper plate, and asked, "You guys hungry?" in a light melodic voice. Her turn revealed a half smile, the other side of her face was disfigured by three livid, red scars, stretching from her hairline to her chin. Harry took the scars in with a glance and immediately dismissed them; you don't sit through a year of classes with a Mad-Eye Moody without becoming rather desensitized to scarring. "Oh," Emily said, surprised. "Who's this?"

One of the boys introduced Bella but paused when it came to Harry. "And I don't actually know who you are," he said, addressing Harry.

Harry smiled, indulgently, "I am Harry Potter, resident Master Warlock."

They gaped at him, their own experience with the supernatural preventing them from dismissing his claim out of hand, but a healthy dose of skepticism lending itself nicely to their incredulity.

Bella blinked and looked at Harry quizzically, "I thought you were a wizard?"

Harry sighed, "I am, but I just don't think I'll ever have the beard to pull it off. So I figured Master Warlock sounded suitably impressive and reasonable." Harry smiled crookedly, "Besides, no one is here to contest my claim."

Emily interrupted with a surprised exclamation, "Wait, so you're actually a warlock- wizard, whatever?"

Harry nodded once, and to give credence to his claim flicked his fingers once and held up a handful of flickering, dancing bluebell flames, amusing himself with their suitably impressed reactions; even Bella was quite impressed, as even though she had known him longer she had never seen him do any really obvious or flashy magic such as this.

Just as they were getting over their awe the door banged open and the three remaining boys of the pack stormed in noisily. Sam gave Harry's handful of flame a passing glance before going straight to Emily, whilst the other two boys were brought up short by its presence.

Harry smiled and let the magic leave his hand as he turned towards the new arrivals, "Ah, you just missed my introduction, I am Harry Potter and, so long as we're not being nitpicky," Harry threw a glance at Isabella and she blushed, "you may also call me Master Warlock, should you choose to."

"Uh, right, so that was magic?" The one Jacob had fought asked, gesturing towards Harry's now perfectly normal looking hand.

"Yup," Harry said. "A simple, little charm that a schoolmate of mine was particularly fond of."

**A/N Okay so not only much, much later than I meant to be getting this done but also much shorter, and Harry and Seth don't get to meet yet. However, I figure it'll help me get this written and done to have it out now instead of waiting another month till I finish the next 5,000 words; I'm hoping that putting this up now and seeing your responses will help me get back into updating every few weeks.**

**The memory scenes aren't going where I expected, but there still going somewhere I like, so that shouldn't be the problem and I should be able to finish off Harry's recollections within the next 5 chapters or so… on that note I was wondering how much of the War people want me to include in the memories – should I keep it to just character development and ability explanations, or should I detail all the differences in the war of my universe (I figure to earn the Title of Greatest Dark Lord, Voldemort would have to be a much bigger threat than he was portrayed in the books…). **

**Anyway, please tell me what you think and enjoy!**


	9. Chapter Eight

**A/N This chapter includes only memories from the past (I want to get through them so I can concentrate on the story's present). **

o0O0o

_- June 24, 1995 -_

_The year had flown by, a blur of frenzied action between bouts of mind-numbingly long periods of inaction and study. My thoughts were still rather scattered from the events of the day, and I found myself thinking upon everything that had happened since I had set out at the beginning of the year with such ambitious plans of creating my own runic language, performing multiple difficult and complex rituals, and finally, most importantly, relaxing, for once out of the spotlight, as the tri-wizard tournament was championed by other students stupid enough to enter themselves in the mad publicity stunt._

_Even with much of my plans being ruined by my name coming out of the Goblet of Fire in Halloween, I had still managed to achieve a great deal this year. My runic language, even if not yet the most elegant or comprehensive of them, was coming along excellently; the well over twelve dozen different rune totems were enchanted and safely stored within an expanded compartment of my trunk, only removed when I was modifying or using the runes in some ritual or experiment. Despite my misgivings about the number of rituals within Dumbledore's journal having them all already broken down within the journal allowed me to very quickly and expediently modify them for my own use. I had performed three rituals before my name had ever come out of the damned goblet, all of the rituals having to do with the rest cycle and shortening it. I had found it most logical to prepare and perform them first as it gave me almost four more hours every day to study and work on the rest, something that undoubtedly greatly helped me during the rest of this crazed year._

_After my name came out of the Goblet, however, things began to go downhill. Not only was I receiving more attention from the other students of the rather negative kind, but I was no longer permitted to visit Dumbledore when I wanted or needed to, a restriction on the champions and their teachers to prevent unfair aid. Sure they say cheating is a traditional part of the competition, but that doesn't mean they were going to make it easy. _

_By the time the first task had rolled around I was a bundle of nerves and three more rituals along, I had found burying myself in the tedious task of the Arithmatic calculations, necessary to modify the rituals, was a good way to distract myself from the upcoming task._

_In another time when I didn't have Dumbledore to light the fire of curiosity in me I might never have bothered to research the tournament, but I had, and I knew that of the nearly seven hundred champions that had ever participated in it, almost three hundred had died and the youngest to have ever participated and survived was sixteen by the tournament's conclusion. That particular student had been a pureblood heir in the seventeen hundreds and had been training with a wand since the age of six, as his brief biography had stated._

_So I had thrown myself into finishing the rituals; Dumbledore had given them to me for a reason, surely? To fight Voldemort, and if they were supposed to help fight the most powerful Dark Lord of the past millennia, surely then those same rituals could help me survive these tasks._

_The first task came and went and the worst injuries any of the participants received were some burns. I can still remember my incredulity at its ease and couldn't help but thank whatever gods were on the board that approved the tasks. I still had two more to complete, however, and I still didn't know _why _I was entered, sure to kill me maybe, the past statistics certainly weren't in my favor, I knew, but if someone was able to get into the school and was powerful enough to trick the Goblet without being caught, wouldn't some poison in my drink or a curse in an empty corridor do just as well? It's not like I had really had my guard up beforehand. Sure I'd had my adventures in the school what with the Philosophers' Stone, the Basilisk, and my more than slightly deranged Godfather, but they all in some way could be put down to me seeking them out or at least approaching them somewhat aware of what was to happen. They all had happened around me and I had involved myself, but none of them had been specifically targeted at me; this one clearly was._

_I performed the pair of rituals that required Fawkes' tears mid-December, before the Yule Ball and found that there was now a constant comforting, almost tingling, warmth in my limbs at all times, easy to ignore and forget but comforting all the same. I had been surprised at how truly good I felt after that ritual, all the small aches, pains, and even small sniffles and everything that was just a part of life seemed to simply vanish almost overnight. I was well and truly in _perfect _health and it was really quite something._

_Even with that though I wasn't distracted long from the tournament; I knew the second task would likely involve a hostage retrieval from the Lake and Merpeople, but that wasn't much to go on. Were they going to add other dangerous creatures to the lake just for the task? Would there be enchantments within the water to confuse and incapacitate? What about the giant squid, were they going to enrage it before the task started – was it even possible to enrage it? I didn't know and there was no way for me to know ahead of time, so I waited, but not idly._

_The Animagus ritual was one of the most complicated, a blending of two beings that when performed correctly could bring out the best in both. I had read the remainder of the explanation of the ritual, besides the small summary that was included in the intro to the journal that I had read earlier in the year. It turned out that while it added the two beings magic, life-force, mind, body, and soul the result was nothing like simple addition. Instead of becoming more powerful magically I would gain new depth to the magic I did possess, perhaps even gaining some magical ability unique to whatever creature I bonded, my life-force would be greater and stronger during my life, making me healthier which would extend my life, but it wouldn't add more than a couple dozen years at the very most. Even so this ritual was one I was perhaps most excited to perform, something to connect me to my father even while making me stronger and furthering my goals._

_I had yet to tell Dumbledore as I couldn't meet with him, but I had stolen several chicken eggs and had enchanted some toads to stay on them until they hatched. Most of the most powerful magical creatures would never consent to bond to a human, dragons far too animalistic and violent, Griffons far too proud and independent, Hippogriffs by far the most proud and dangerously volatile tempers, Nundus too dangerous to ever get close enough to try forming the bond with, the same with Chimaeras, and Phoenix' clearly too powerful being the embodiment of light, heat, and good. In fact, Phoenix' were technically classified as spirits and not creatures as their lives are independent of their bodies; only a few other beings were similarly classified, such as Dementors, nymphs, and sylphs. A Basilisk, however, was a creature that, being a parcelmouth, I could speak to and come to an agreement with, a creature that is often forced to live a more lonely life than it might choose because of its nearly uncontainable lethality._

_I couldn't deny that the idea of becoming an animagus with a Basilisk was a slightly heady feeling, though that is if any of the Basilisks agree and if the ritual went right. Even so, the idea of what sort of weapon that might be against Voldemort was more than a little terrifying. I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the Basilisk magic might result in spell resistant skin or perhaps even deadly eyes that I would have to conceal. Every time I begin to balk at the idea, however, I remember that all of these rituals are meant to prepare me for war, and not simply some entertaining project I've decided to take on. So I press on and check on the eggs I've hidden in the Chamber of Secrets every couple of days._

_Even with that preparation the ritual was a long way off, if ever, so I had turned my attention others; such as one very delicate ritual that took a small bit of magical energy and sped the flow and processing of chemicals within the brain, effectively increasing the speed of one's thoughts. It was an extremely delicate balance between what was sped and what wasn't, because if the wrong thing was it could cause the brain not only to think faster, but age faster as well, which certainly wasn't the goal. Once I had completed that ritual I had actually been slightly disappointed with the results, the effect was so slight that had I not been expecting and looking for it I might have missed it, but since I was I was able to notice that the world and events did seem to flow around me just the slightest bit slower than it had before. The ritual by no means made me any more intelligent than I already was, but it would allow me to come to the same conclusions and react as I might have before just that split second faster in times when it might truly matter._

_The last rituals that had taken the remainder of the school year to perfect and perform were many and sundry varied ones meant to maintain the minute details of my health and body that would normally be ignored. Such things as expediting the speed at which lactic acid is drained from my muscles, strengthening those same muscles so that whilst they can still grow and be healthy I am less likely to pull or damage them. The same was done for the ligaments and bones of my body and finally moving on to my organs. Some ensuring that no clots can form in my veins or arteries that aren't supposed to, some to keep my liver operating at peak efficiency no matter what and some to even aid in the smooth and efficient digestion and use of all nutrients. Other rituals included were meant to open up my lungs further and ensure my blood carried the maximum of oxygen healthy. One set of rituals even helped regulate the functions and shape of my eyes allowing them to adjust to any lighting far more quickly and removing my need for glasses completely. Each ritual only took minute amounts of magic manipulating the smallest particles of my being, but the overall effects when felt all together were rather profound. I now literally possessed a perfect athlete's body and my magic maintained it for me without the need for a strict diet or even exercise, and all it took was the slightest constant trickle of my power that I was barely even capable of feeling the loss of._

_After the incredible ease of the first two tasks in which no one was really anywhere close to harm I had finally calmed somewhat and realized that the safety measures they had imposed in this tournament were little more than a watering down the tasks to a mockery of what they had been in the past; I found myself worrying less and less about the third and final upcoming task._

_Perhaps that had been my first mistake. However, the worst and most damaging had been when I grabbed that portkey and relaxed, assuming it was bringing me safely to the judges and crowd. I hadn't even had time to raise my wand before I had been stunned upon arrival._

_The events that followed were still a blur, even after having removed the memories and viewing them again with Dumbledore at his request. After all my efforts, and Dumbledore's extra tutelage, after my rituals and extra study, after all of it, the duel between Voldemort and I had been a mockery of my abilities. I performed better than any fourteen, almost fifteen, year old could ever be expected to, however, even then Voldemort had merely toyed with me, showing just how truly outclassed I was even when he was likely greatly weakened by being in a new body for the first time in thirteen years and the drain creating that body must have been on his magic. I had escaped because of a lucky fluke and little more._

_And now I was still somehow supposed to be able to discover some 'power' he knew not and defeat him._

_Luckily with the capture of Barty Crouch Jr. I was likely completely safe within the castle for at the very least twenty-four hours, and I fully intended to use that time to sleep and not dream about graveyards or hands or rats or anything disturbing at all._

_o0O0o_

"_Ah good, come and sit, my boy. We have much to discuss today. I trust that you have recovered fully from that rather regrettable bit of business yesterday?" Dumbledore asked cheerily._

_I knew it was an act, done for my benefit, to relax me, to say nothing has changed, that all can still be well when I know it isn't true. He knows that I don't want to be pitied or fawned over or even shown his concern. It would make it more real and more immediate somehow, and I couldn't help but feel it would be an intrusion into my pain. I had earned this pain, even if that made no sense. So he put on an act, as if nothing had changed with Voldemort's resurrection, and perhaps in some ways it really hadn't, but even so I was angry for a moment wishing that he wouldn't pretend that he wouldn't show his concern by not showing it. It made no sense whatsoever but for a moment I truly wanted him not to care, because then I suppose I couldn't have disappointed him with my failure._

_I sighed as I sat, pushing those thoughts aside, I could try and make sense of them some other time, for now I had to learn the secrets of magic that might one day make me Voldemort's equal. "Hello, Professor." I pause, wondering whether I should ask the question that has been bothering me since I had woken up this morning and finally decide I couldn't leave it unasked. "Professor? How was Barty Crouch able to avoid detection all year?" I tried to keep the question as non-accusatory as possible, but I'm sure he caught the slight edge to the question._

"_Ah, well I must admit that was a rather blatant failure of mine this year. The worst part is that my best excuse is that Alastor was above suspicion, something that should never be when magic is involved." He shook his head as if throwing off the thought. "Alastor Moody is perhaps one of the cleverest bastards I know; his appearance is nothing more than an extremely complex, personalized glamour that he has never taught to anybody else. That means that anybody who somehow manages to get their hands on any of his hair – something which he has always been extremely careful in preventing – then they would polyjuice into his true appearance and still be picked out immediately as an imposter."_

_I was slightly confused by this explanation, "Surely then it would make it easier for someone to imitate him, all they have to do is to imitate his glamour?" I asked._

_He shook his head in the negative. "The reason curse scars are so significant is because of all the magic in the world very, very little of it is permanent or irreversible. In battle no witch or wizard worth their salt would waste magical energy and time on casting one of the few complex curses that are resistant to healing, as doing so will only more quickly exhaust their reserves and leave them open to retaliation. Also, were I to cast a spell to make a cut that is un-healable by magical means it would take about the same amount of magical power to give someone an inch long scratch as it would to literally bisect that same person with a regular curse." I didn't know where he was going with this and was slightly annoyed by that, however, what he was telling me was fascinating. "This means that as long as the individual survives long enough to reach a competent healer – and sometimes if the damage is slight enough, died very recently – then they can make a full and perfect recovery. This makes almost any scarring whatsoever nearly completely absent in the magical world." Now I was starting to understand, clearly if scars were so uncommon then Mad-eye's appearance was a lot farther than normal than I'd ever realized. "The only disfigurements that Mad-eye truly posses is a magical eye and prosthetic leg, the rest are his own record and testament to past battles; each scar he wears represents an injury and battle he has survived. Thus his glamoured self is incredibly distinctive and, because of the nature of the spell he designed, also incredibly difficult to imitate. However, that isn't all he has done to prevent anyone from impersonating him, his wand has been tied to his blood and magic so no one else can wield it, and the glamour he designed fails immediately upon imbibing any magical potion – allowing healers to treat him properly and preventing anyone from stealing the spell and using it in conjunction with polyjuice. You see, polyjuice potion can imitate appearance and the feel of someone's magic on the surface, however, it cannot imitate blood, or, in this case, Mad-eye's distinctive glamour._

"_Barty Crouch Jr. had clearly been preparing to impersonate Mad-eye for quite some time. In a second more in depth questioning after you had left and before he was kissed, I discovered the means by which he managed it. Firstly he designed his own spell to literally shred Mad-eye's glamour, imitating the visual whilst leaving the other aspects of the glamour untouched, permitting him to take Mad-eye's appearance. Then using the polyjuice he took on his physique and magical displacement, and, finally, he literally traded wand-hands with Alastor, using a rather complex rune scheme on his arm he prevented Mad-eye's blood from draining from the limb, permitting him to trick his wand into allowing him to wield it." I blinked in surprise, that was much more complicated and disgusting than I had thought it could be. "Even knowing what he did I do not believe I could design a similar system in any less than a month of dedicated work, however, young Mr. Crouch was always quite talented in spell creation." Dumbledore shuffled some sheaves of parchment to the side of his desk and ate a candy from the dish._

"_Moving on, tell me, Harry, what do you know of Dark Magic?" He asked, getting straight to the topic of discussion without any further distractions._

_I pondered the question for a moment, pushing all thoughts of Mad-eye from my mind, but was quickly forced to admit that despite four years of Defense Against the Dark Arts I really didn't know what the Dark Arts technically were. "I guess, all I really know is that everyone says it's 'bad.'" I smiled depreciatively. _

"_A much more accurate answer than I would expect from most students." Dumbledore said, sounding pleased. "Dark magic is incredibly useful in duels, and I do not believe there has ever been a dueling champion in the last three millennia that did not use Dark Magic frequently. You see it is not Dark Magic that is evil as most people believe, that is Black Magic. Magic can be split into five groupings, White, Light, Neutral, Dark, and Black. White Magic involves willing sacrifice, and conversely Black magic involves unwilling sacrifice; these are the magics that are most basically good and evil, and are very often confused with Light and Dark. Neutral magic is what is taught here at Hogwarts and includes the greatest number of spells." Here he paused and I nodded to show I was following. "Light and Dark magic are simply forms of magic that are somehow fueled or directed by emotion – Light Magic by positive emotion and Dark magic by negative. A spell can be any combination of these categories; excepting for neutral and either light or dark, these different classifications are not mutually exclusive." He smiled, undoubtedly detecting my slight confusion._

_He waved his wand and a large vase appeared next to his desk, a second wave and it duplicated itself several times leaving numerous identical vases. "A demonstration shall perhaps aid in understanding. A simple coloring charm learned in second year, _coloris caisitas."_ As he spoke the spell a pale jet of light shot out of his wand and struck one of the vases and turning it a light baby blue in color. "That was a neutral spell and no matter what I am feeling at the time of casting it will work exactly the same and achieve the same result. However, a very slight modification to that spell, allowing emotion to fuel its effectiveness can cause a significant change, _colorem caisitas." _He smiled benignly as he said it and the spell that flowed from his wand was the slightest bit darker, and when it struck another of the vases the result was a much deeper blue. Without waiting for a moment he spoke again, aiming at a third vase, scowling rather darkly, a surprisingly scary expression on his withered features. "_colorem caisitas." _ This time, almost identical to the previous, the spell was darker and the result a far deeper blue. "That was the same spell, designed to use emotion, however, the first time I cast it it was a Light spell and the second a Dark spell, merely because I was feeling different emotions when I cast it. The reason Dark spells are most often used in dueling when positive emotion is just as effective and powerful is because it is far easier to channel anger, annoyance, or even hate at an opponent than it is to use their opposites." _

"_Emotion when combined with magic can create some truly incredibly results. It can be used as a fuel, to direct or misdirect, or even as a medium." He gestured at the remaining unaffected vases, "I shall run through several variations on that same charm to show you what a little emotion can truly do." _

_And he proceeded to do so, casting nearly the same spell each time and achieving many varied results. One spell he cast rocketed out of his wand like a bullet, covering the intervening space in a fraction of the time the previous spells had and achieving the same light blue as the original spell, another of the spells he cast whilst pointing his wand at me, only for the spell to curve around and hit one of the vases directly in its center. "Emotion is instantaneous and never misses. If you love someone, or hate them, then you will continue to feel for them no matter where they are and those feelings of yours will apply to them the moment you feel them. This is the concept much of emotion magic is based on, we take some aspect of the emotion and apply it to the spell in whatever way we can. By taking the instantaneous aspect of emotion we can greatly augment the speed of a spell, because it is no longer traveling purely through space, instead it is traveling partially within the medium of your emotions. Another method of using emotions is to take the aspect of its accuracy, if emotion directs where the spell goes and not where you aim your wand, then it is virtually impossible to miss." He turned from me and began casting various Dark and Light spells at the vases, allowing me to ponder his words. _

_Soon every vase was some varying shade of blue and he moved on to one of the weakest and simplest blasting curses, taught early on in most students fourth year. The results were just as impressive as before, whereas the regular curse would crack and chip the vase rather severely, the Dark and Light equivalents reduced them nearly to powder. One variation of the spell he cast headed directly at a solid piece of a previously cracked vase, only for the spell to swerve directly into the weakest section of the vase at the last moment, shattering it instead of merely cracking._

_Eventually there was a pile of cluttered pieces of crockery and a rather amusingly thick dusting of powdered pottery covering an entire corner of Dumbledore's office. The mess was short lived, however, as Dumbledore quickly vanished it and turned back to Harry. "Despite the incredible and numerous things that can be done with emotion in spells there are only slightly over a dozen different common arithatic formulas for these results. First you must understand how you intend to use emotion to get the result you want and then you must model it Arithmatically to create a spell with it – a rather difficult proposition, especially with such abstract concepts. The three Unforgivables are in fact a trio of spells created by a thirteenth century Dark Lord using his own unique model that no one has ever successfully copied or extrapolated since. The way the spells work is now fairly common knowledge, however, despite that understanding no one has managed to model it with arithmancy yet; some even speculate that that particular Dark Lord even created his own Arithmatic constants – much in the way you have created your own runic language – to be able to create the spells. They work on the principle of using emotion as a medium, however, unlike most other such models, the Unforgiveables are able, for a very small period of time, to pass completely into that medium and leave regular space, allowing them to bypass clothes, armor, and shields with impunity. It has been determined that the stronger the emotion felt the further the spell can go whilst not in regular space, though even the strongest emotion will only result in about six inches of travel before the spell destabilizes; the medium of emotion is not meant to carry spells, so no matter how strongly one feels a spell cast into will destabilize eventually. That is why an unforgivable that misses often explodes, as it is the reentry of the destabilized magic into this dimension – most often done within an object and not at its surface." Dumbledore checked his watch and sighed. "That is where we must end here today, Harry, I must speak to Cornelius again soon and hopefully convince him to pull his head out of his arse."_

_I blinked and almost laughed at hearing Dumbledore say such a thing, but I contained myself and left with a simple nod and a, "Good-day Professor."_

o0O0o

**A/N Next chapter will still include a memory bit and I should get at least one more chapter up before I return to college on the 18****th****. Also it bothers me that the chapters don't align with the numbers next to them on this site, so I'm thinking of naming the chapters something more original than 'chapter Eight' if you have a suggestion for any chapter please share!**


	10. Chapter Nine

**A/N Okay, I know it's been way too long, but I was struck with inspiration for another story and it took all my creative faculties for a while. Also I am pretty near a turning point in this story and I've only recently really decided which direction I want to go.**

o0O0o

_June 1995_

_"You wanted to see me before the train left, Professor?" I asked as I stepped into his office._

_"Ah, yes Harry, please do come in." Dumbledore was busy shuffling through various papers on his desk, the normally, almost artistically, cluttered office was in disarray with papers almost everywhere. _

_Dumbledore frowned as Harry settled himself in a seat. "I am terribly sorry, my boy, but I am afraid I must spring a bit of bad news on you. Still, it is not a complete loss. Cornelius refuses to see reason, and has instead turned his efforts to discredit both you and myself. I fear that his efforts will leave Hogwarts as less than the learning institute it should be, most especially for you." Dumbledore shifted uncomfortably and put aside the papers he had been holding. "I am afraid that in order to avoid the interruption to your education and any other damages the ministry may attempt to heap upon you, I have decided that it would be best for you to not return to Hogwarts in the fall." _

_"What!?" I shouted, unable to contain myself, feeling betrayed and abandoned, that Dumbledore would give up so easily._

_Dumbledore raised his hands in supplication, imploring me silently to allow him to continue. I subdued my reaction, but the explanation sure as hell better be good. "I am not giving up, nor should you, however, you must have realized by now that many of the rituals you have performed and will continue to perform are _technically_ illegal. Cornelius is already making moves to bring Hogwarts under ministry control and supervision, and I have little doubt that he will succeed, to a degree, before next fall. If you are caught doing these rituals by the ministry while it is in the mood to demonize you the damage to your reputation and the consequences the ministry would be able to bring down upon us would be catastrophic. Admittedly, it will damage your reputation to be absent from the school to refute the claims of the ministry, however, that will be far less damaging and quickly forgotten once the ministry is brought back in line." _

_I slumped back in my chair, of course I knew the rituals weren't legal, with the benefits they were capable of giving I had wondered why everyone didn't perform them. My research had revealed that the ministry was actually right to do so as before they did the death toll from incorrectly performed or experimental rituals numbered in the dozens every year. Now, if someone wanted to perform a ritual they had to go through a long process of bureaucratic red tape to even get approval to present their case for why they need the ritual, and only then once approved by a judge and with at least a minority vote of one third the Wizengammot could the wizard even legally begin to prepare the ritual. Once it was prepared everything had to be sent to the ministry for the Unspeakables to review and approve, then the individual had to rent a ritual chamber in the department of mysteries and pay for the supervision of a ministry accredited official to observe the procedure. The entire process could easily take a year for each ritual you wanted to perform._

_The fact that I understood the reasons didn't mean I didn't feel that sliver of betrayal._

_"However," Dumbledore spoke, "As I said, all is not lost. I have managed to convince an old friend of mine to accept you into his school for the year." Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Your acceptance into The Tower Academy is not an insignificant thing, I assure you. The academy has never before offered so much as guest housing to a wizard with a wand before. The only reason I managed to get you in was because of your rather unique place in the hearts of most wizards and the fact that you were never able to receive the letter of invitation they sent to you five years ago." Dumbledore shifted some of the papers on his desk before removing a single letter, clearly made of expensive parchment, that he handed to me. The parchment envelope was smooth and creamy in my hand and the letter was addressed in finest calligraphy to Mr. H. J. Potter with a stylized A without the horizontal line on the flip side with a circle with a sinuous line through it separating a black and white half, much like a yin-yang symbol but without the dots, directly above it. "You may read through that at your leisure at another time, however, I must warn you of a few things before you depart for the train. firstly The Tower Academy, whilst it teaches wizards and witches no different than those taught at Hogwarts, they are taught a completely different type of magic, that requires no wand or focus. After four years of Hogwarts education you will be at a severe disadvantage, however, that is no reason not to persevere. The Magic taught at the Academy is focused mainly around the elements of nature and has an entirely different basis than the Hogwarts curriculum, while it is significantly different it has its strengths just as wand magic does. I am certain that Voldemort has never studied it, thus if you master even just a small portion of the Academies teachings you will gain an advantage and, perhaps, a greater understanding of just what magic is._

_"I will state this bluntly, there are dozens of different ways of practicing magic all over the world, some crude and simplistic, some incredibly complex, some powerful, and some subtle; the average witch or wizard will learn only one method and only that to a mediocre level, very few wizards or witches will master their art and even fewer ever get the opportunity to study more than one, as each of us tend to guard our secrets rather jealously. The opportunity you are being given should not be squandered; in fact, I would likely have willingly given my wand arm for such an opportunity in my youth."_

_I nodded, understanding. There were legends of the wars that were fought between the European wand wizards and the Asian sorcerers of the Emperor and how the clashing of the different magics had started the plague that wiped out Alexander the Greats army. It was a well known and accepted fact that no one could understand all of magic. "I won't, Professor." I said simply._

_"Good." Dumbledore nodded, "On your way out, would you take these down to Madame Pince, They are a few books of my own collection that I feel a younger generation could benefit from." There was a quirk to his lips that told me that the books were for me and not Madame Pince, so I smiled slightly as I picked them up and slid out of the office._

o0O0o

When the boys finally settled down from the surprise of being introduced to a 'warlock' they got to the point of the meeting, which was, apparently, the details of a vampire that had been hunting the resident Queen of Melodrama, Isabella Swan, herself. I was, to put it mildly, rather ticked off when her response to why she hadn't told me before now was that I wouldn't have been able to do anything and I would just be in danger. I hadn't been sure whether to laugh, scowl, or hit the girl for her idiocy. Apparently she was never going to tell me and the only reason she called me at all was because she hoped I would be able to help protect or prevent the wolves – mostly Jacob – from being harmed.

At that point I had taken it upon myself to explain that wizards such as myself were so far above vampires on the food chain as to be laughable. I told her that, while I don't bother to run around faster than the eye can follow and break things with inhuman strength, I could still very easily crush a coven of vampires into ashes on a whim. Bella hadn't seemed to believe me, the wolves, however, whilst being slightly skeptical were much more impressed by my assertion.

It was true too, I could very easily take out a coven of vampires, one simple, or not so simple, flame spell and they would be almost instantaneous ash. That along with my personal wards meant that I was untouchable to magical creatures that fought physically and not magically. The only trouble I would have would be catching up to the damn vampire; whilst I could easily kill one if I set it on fire they were still wickedly fast and, more often than not, intelligent, meaning I either had to catch it by surprise or corner it. A determined and fearful vampire could easily lead me on an unending chase through the country side if it was fast enough.

That being said, there were spells that any witch or wizard could use that were incredibly effective against any non-wizard. Really comparing a wizard to a vampire was like comparing a vampire to a human - just a tad bit ridiculous. Personal wards changed the whole nature of a battle; most people never think of this, but if one of the simplest spells a wizard can cast is a spell that creates a light to illuminate an entire area brightly, then why can't a wizard cast an equally easy spell to focus all that light into a thin laser? The answer is: he can. Even below average witches and wizards have enough power to cast a spell that will create a laser pointer like emitter at the tip of their wand with enough power to literally bisect a person, and seeing as how it is a laser it would travel at the speed of light. However, any other wizard with even the most mediocre of personal wards would be completely immune to such an attack as the ward could deflect, diffract, absorb, or any other number of things to protect the individual within them; because the attack, at the point the wards would contain no magical power the ward would only have to work against the physical photons and no hostile magic. Unfortunately for me, Vampires were magical creatures whose bodies were saturated with all of their magic, meaning that even if I were to use such a spell their bodies and magic would automatically fight back against it; whilst, such an instinctive and natural defense might be less efficient than a refined personal ward, it would still be plenty enough to protect the average vampire from sustaining immediate lethal damage from such a spell.

I don't think many of them believed me when I told them vampires weren't a problem for me, but I didn't feel like giving them any sort of demonstration; whilst it would undoubtedly have impressed the wolves, it would also likely scare the lot of them, and no one's first impression of magic should be a frightening one - there are enough terrifying things hidden in the dark corners of magic already without that being someone's introduction to it.

The meeting quickly devolved after that, helped considerably by the excellent smelling food Emily, Sam's fiancé, made.

I stuck around for the rest of the day, the wolf pack begged for magic demonstrations and I entertained them with innocuous charms and transfigurations. I was surprised to find that I was enjoying myself, despite the packs mature appearance they were still all young enough to experience the awe all children do when first introduced to fun magic. It was an awe that I had long ago lost; I couldn't help regretting that loss as they clamored to see various tricks and displays.

I was invited to join them for dinner and I accepted, despite a few lingering doubts; I felt slightly off kilter in a group as boisterous as this.

Dinner turned into a large but relaxed affair that took place on Billy Black, Jacob's Father's, porch; everyone grabbing a seat where they could, most stuck on the ground with plates in their laps. I was introduced as Bella's friend to a bunch of other people from the reserve and Bella's Father, who gave me a considering look; apparently he hadn't known how much Bella had been bothering me the past months and this was the first he'd ever heard of me from her.

Despite that I was introduced to Harry Clearwater, his wife, Sue, and their children Leah, their daughter just on the cusp of adulthood, and Seth a boy of fourteen who was clearly besotted with Jacob. I didn't think anyone else had realized his adulation for the other boy was more than hero worship, but it was amusing for me to watch him constantly try to worm his way into any conversation Jacob was having.

The meal was noisy and there seemed to be several dozen conversations going at once between the eleven or so attending, but that allowed me to slip quietly into the background and not be the center, something I was grateful for. Eventually the rain interrupted to meal and we all headed off to our own homes; there was a moment of difficulty when they realized I didn't have a car and no one had given me a ride here, but with a few words and a subtle compulsion not to care allowed me to slip into the shadows and Shift back to my own house.

o0O0o

I set up a few wards, mostly weak perimeter wards that wouldn't do any more than alert me to the presence of a vampire, around the Quileute land and around Ms. Swan's house, despite the fact that her house was already within a couple layers of my own wards. I wasn't much concerned with the vampire, partially because I knew I was protected, and partially because I was rather impressed with what the wolves had shown themselves capable of. Time passed in this manner and nothing much happened, I still attended classes and coasted through them with ease born of my skill in occlumency.  
>In fact things had been going so smoothly that when my wards were finally tripped during spring break it took me almost a minute to realize what was going on - there was a vampire currently in Ms. Swan's house, though she herself wasn't present at the moment.<p>

I always had the Elder Wand on me, so there was no need to go scrambling about for it, instead I wove a dozen spells around myself for concealment so I could hopefully remain undetected to the incredibly senses all vampires posses. With that done it was surprisingly easy to Shift across the street into the Swan's sitting room, the only room I could get a clear view of from my own house.

I arrived invisible, odorless, and silently in the almost pitch dark room I could just barely make out the outline of the vampire in the dark, even with my above average night vision. Whoever it was, was sitting perfectly still, clearly waiting, and had a slim petite build of a girl. I silently wove a shield of air around her - it would stop her for long, if at all, but it would definitely slow her down, hopefully enough for me to hit her with a spell if it became necessary. A second spell that would make certain she wouldn't be able to pinpoint me voice and I spoke. "Don't move."

Perhaps not my most inspirational of threats, but oh well. Of course she immediately disobeyed; had I been fast enough I might have sent a spell, but as it was I barely caught the flicker of movement between sitting and standing. With another flick of thought the room was brightly lit, the light seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere, leaving everything to appear oddly flat.

I sighed, I recognized this vampire, it was Allison or Ally, or something. With a twitch of my wand I became visible, though she still wouldn't be able to hear my heart or smell me. I didn't take down the shield of air just yet, a precaution in case she did anything, it would give me the time I needed to react. "Ms. Cullen," I remembered that name at least. "What, may I ask, are you doing here."

She seemed annoyingly composed for being caught off guard, but it really didn't matter. "I am waiting for Charlie to get home. And you?" I frowned, Charlie? Oh, Mr. Swan, the old one; for all the ease occlumency gave me in remembering things, I was still terrible with names.

"My wards told me there was a vampire in the area, and since you and your family have left the only vampires in the area have been hostile, so I thought it was prudent to check."

It was her turn to be confused. "What other vampires?" She asked.

I shrugged, "Victoria - I think was the name - anyway she and the other member of her coven Lorry - no Lauren, were after Ms. Swan for revenge, or something." Her eyes widened noticeably in surprise, before she shook her head, in exasperation or frustration, I'm not sure which.

"Well they won't have a target here anymore, and you won't have anyone to protect. Bella's dead."

Now I was shocked - I didn't like how we kept trading places - I hadn't felt anything from my wards, even the ones I had placed directly on Bella. Even if, for some reason, the wards failed I still should have felt them collapse when she died.

I twirled my wand slightly and queried the wards - everything seemed in order. A second twitch and a lot more power into the spell flooded me with information about Ms. Swan's health. I blinked, I hadn't actually realized the spell could give me that much information, I'd gotten it out of a book for mothers trying to keep track of their children and their health. "I don't know why you think Ms. Swan is dead, but I can assure you she is perfectly healthy besides a sore throat and a couple bruises."

She stared at me a moment, surprised by the detail, I think. In fact, I was a little weirded out by it as well, I really had no idea the spell could give me the minutiae of her health when I put it on her; it seemed like an invasion of privacy.

She was about to say something when she paused, tilting her head as if listening to something. It took me a moment longer, but soon enough I too could hear the distinctive roar of Bella's fossil of a truck.

It took almost two full minutes for the front door to open, but Ms. Cullen seemed perfectly willing to wait, so I did as well. When Bella stepped into the house she was, unsurprisingly, perfectly alive.

She threw herself at the vampire, embracing her enthusiastically, oblivious to the pained look on the vampires face. It took me a moment to interpret, but when I did I immediately snapped of several spells that would eliminate and conceal Bella's scent and mute the sound of her heart and blood. The vampire sent me a grateful look over Bella's head while the girl remained completely oblivious.

When Bella finally did come back to earth and noticed me her expression became rather confused. "What are you doing here?" She asked me.

I blinked, slightly surprised, A vampire she hasn't seen in months shows up in her house and gets glomped - really there was no other word for it - and I get such a dismissive response; if I had at all actually liked the girl, I might have been hurt.

As it was I shrugged, saying carelessly and sarcastically, "Oh, just visiting the vampire that broke into your house. I assure you, I won't make the mistake of being concerned in the future." She blinked in surprise. I made my way to the front door, pausing to look back. "Oh, Ms. Cullen, you may wish to do something about your hunger soon, the spells will wear off within the hour." She nodded in understanding while Bella remained confused and oblivious. Really if that girl's mind wasn't so interesting I think I would have left the state just to avoid her already.

When I got back to my own house it was to the lovely aroma of burnt dinner; in my rush to check out the Swan residence I'd completely forgotten that I'd had dinner in the oven.

With a grimace of annoyance and several swishes of my wand the smoke and burnt mess in the oven were both gone and a can of baked beans was steaming and pouring itself into a bowl - just because I'm a good cook and enjoy it on occasion, doesn't mean I don't know and love the wonders of canned food.

o0O0o

**A/N Okay, I admit I had a bit of fun with the names. (Tell me if you find it amusing as well, or just annoying)**

**Also, slight bella bashing in this chapter - sorry, but rereading the story to get the timeline has just reminded me of how pathetically sappy she behaves. I'm all for romance, but one has to take pride in themselves as well.**

**Glomped - to hug (non-sexually) in an exuberant manner... I hadn't actually realized until Word didn't like it, that glomped isn't technically a word (yet).**

**Part of the reason it's taken me so long to get these out there is the feeling that I shouldn't post until I have enough material to be worth it. So from here on out I think I'll aim for about three to five thousand words per chapter, instead of seven or more. Also one of the reasons it's taking me so long to get these chapters out is 'cus I keep having go back and read the actual story to get the timeline and events correct - something that isn't all that entertaining for me... So if you see events slightly out of order it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the plot. That being said the dinner in this chapter was actually long before here in the story time-line, and I hadn't realized that until I was done writing it - so, oh well.**


	11. Chapter Ten

**READ PLEASE! A/N I have gotten too many reviews complaining about the memories at the beginning of each chapter (which I suppose is kinda understandable, they have taken up a majority of my writing). So I have caved to reader pressure, and I will try to close off that bit of the story in the next couple of chapters - this will mean a much less in depth look at Har****ry's past and the war with Voldemort.**

**Also next chapter probably won't be out until the end of the weekend at the very earliest - (I'm feeling inspiration to write this story this week, however, the next chapter will include several scenes which I have very literally been planning since the beginning).**

o0O0o

_September 1st, 1996_

_I stepped off the train onto Hogsmeade station and drew in a long breath, enjoying the familiar taste of the air. My year away from Hogwarts at the Tower Academy had certainly been an interesting and trying experience. The Academy magic was completely different, and yet at the same time, incredibly similar. I had left the Academy with the understanding of magic Dumbledore seemed to have hoped I would be able to achieve, though it hadn't been an easy path._

_The difference between spells with wands and the magic of the academy, seemed rather vast at first, however, the true differences were actually much more subtle. In magic with wands the wizard would speak the spell and perform the motions while focusing on the goal and the magic that some wizard millennia ago had performed and tied to those actions would be called up to shape the magic sent from the wand to perform whatever task the spell was for. In the Tower Academy though, one would learn not dozens or hundreds of various spells, but five. _

_Water, Air, Fire, Earth, and Spirit. The elements of life, as they were taught._

_The witch or wizard would learn these five so intimately during their time in the Academy that when they cast them with their will imprinted upon their magic, it didn't immediately leave their control; instead the witch or wizard would weave some combination of the elements or all five of them together that would achieve the result desired. In a way, wand spells came from the wand with the full will, intent, and power imbued into them and were complete, not to be altered until they carried out their task. The Academy spells were all incomplete, however, and it was only through the skillful and sometimes artful combinations that the result could be brought about._

_I had originally struggled but once I was able to use each of the elements, even just once, I was able to imprint that process into my subconscious with Occlumency - something the other students at the Academy hadn't had the advantage of. Once that was done it was just a matter of time and tweaking my control over the five and I could cast the spells just as quickly and skillfully, if not more so, as the other students at the Academy. I had achieved that in early spring of the year and from there on out it was just a race to learn as many of the various combinations and configurations of the five that were well known and tested amongst the schools records._

_I had even learned the major points of the Academy's version of Arithmancy, so that I could predict what configurations would and could do what, though it was a much less structured Arithmancy than that which belonged to wanded magic, as the Elements were much more closely tied to an individual's will, and therefore more instinctive._

_That hadn't been the only thing I had accomplished at the Academy though, I had managed to complete the remainder of the rituals in Dumbledore's journals and even constructed a pair of my own that I had yet to perform with my now broadened understanding of magic._

_But all of that fell by the wayside as I greeted acquaintances and classmates and boarded a thestral drawn coach, glad to finally return home to Hogwarts as a sixth year student._

o0O0o

_June 1997_

_I had taken what I had learned in the Academy and applied it to the spells of wand wizards with surprising results; it had taken a while, but I had determined several ways of breaking spells down into components, similar but far more numerous in number than the Elements, and impressed upon my subconscious the exact way of calling those components together with my magic. This meant that not only could I relatively easily cast a spell without a wand, if necessary, but also that each spell I cast wasn't just a single spell, but a cobbling together of the building blocks of spells instead. At first I had thought the experiment was a complete failure as it actually required more time to cobble together each spell, using my control over my subconscious with Occlumency and then casting it, than it did to merely do the entire thing consciously and together. However, I had eventually stumbled upon the idea of making the cobbling together of the spell blocks subconscious as well. It had taken several months to build the thought patterns properly and imbed them into my subconscious - even straining my mind in the end so that despite the numerous rituals to reduce the amount of sleep I need I still required almost a full seven hours of sleep each night for my now rather laden subconscious to restore my mind each night.**_

_The best way I had been able to explain the process to Albus, he had requested I call him that when we had begun dueling each other for practice, was that my mind was kind of like a shot put thrower - every time I cast a spell I picked up one of the shots and threw it, and that tired out my mind. However by placing a the exact method of calling upon my magic for a spell in my subconscious it was like having a strong belt on my mental 'body' where the shots hung at my waist, I no longer had to bend down to pick up the shots, they were already right there. However, their presence on my 'body' weighed it down - in other words it was a constant, slight drain on my mind to always have these spells essentially permanently ready to cast. Finally when I figured out how to cobble together the spell blocks subconsciously instead of consciously it was like adding a sling to my mental body, and instead of throwing shots I was slinging a dozen small rocks at a time, much faster, and even less of a strain on my mind overall than it would have been to store all of the various spells I could now cobble together subconsciously than as whole spells. Though in this analogy my sling, which was the process by which I subconsciously cobbled together all of the spell blocks, would weigh more on my mental 'body' more than any single 'shot' (spell) would._

_In the end this meant that all I needed to do to cast a spell was aim my wand and intend a result and my subconscious would take it from there. In my duels with Albus it had been rather surprising how quickly I had almost been able to beat him when I could cast all my combat spells so quickly and effortlessly, in fact it was only his much superior skill in occlumency and legilimency that had allowed him to hold me off. After that he had taken to learning my process himself, though he never seemed to achieve as much ease with it as I did; perhaps his age had cemented the way he thought, or perhaps he merely couldn't grasp and understand the concept that wasn't originally his enough to get the full use of it. Either way it mattered little and our duels took on a whole new level of intensity. Before our duels had been exchanges of devastatingly powerful and complex spells that had been impressive, however, now the duels included dozens of other smaller spells slipped into the cracks and constantly raining down upon our opponents in a much faster paced barrage of exchanges._

_However, even with my knowledge of magic, Elemental and wanded, and even my new skill in dueling I was very hesitant to name any of it 'The power the Dark Lord know not.' _

_Albus and I had managed to discover Slytherin's locket, squirreled away in Grimauld Place, Ravenclaw's Diadem when I had almost literally stumbled across it in the Room of Requirement, and the Gaunt family ring, which was actually the resurrection stone and had nearly killed Albus with the insidious compulsion and curse on it before I had pulled him away. Even all those successes, including the now long destroyed diary, leaving Tom with only Nagini and Hufflepuff's Cup to protect his mortality, I was still hesitant to believe myself capable of facing him in a fight; I still remembered all too well the ease with which he bested me at the end of my fourth year._

o0O0o

After the arrival of Ms. Cullen I heard nothing for a couple days, and really wasn't at all disappointed by the fact. However, when I did finally hear back from them it was to a frantic beating on my door and an insistent ringing of my doorbell. My wards had told me that the vampire, Bella, and Jacob Black were heading my way, however, they had been close enough and fast enough when they made the decision that I hadn't even gotten to the door before them.

Swinging my door open and doing my best to put Snape's annoyed glare to shame, I came face to face with a rather interesting mix of expressions. Bella was clearly distraught, a not uncommon occurrence with her, Jacob looked rather pained and slightly desperate, and Ms. Cullen looked slightly confused and rather annoyed, though there was a hint of desperation her as well.

"Harry, please! We desperately need your help!" Bella wailed. "We need to get to Italy as fast as possible is there anything you can do?"

I blinked losing my, perhaps, slightly over the top dramatically annoyed pose, instead adopting a slightly confused countenance. "Why the hell would you need to go to Italy. The only thing I can possibly think you might be involved in there would be the Volturi, but I doubt even you're stupid enough to get involved with them." _Woops_. I really hadn't meant to let that slip out, I had always maintained an utmost polite countenance when dealing with the girl in the past, even if she was incredibly annoying. Now, however, Jacob was _growling_ at me and Bella seemed temporarily stunned into silence, amusingly enough Allison - or whatever - didn't seem surprised at all, maybe she was more intelligent than I had thought before.

Bella shook herself roughly and continued on, ignoring my slip. "It does have to do with the Volturi, E - Edward's in danger and we have to get to him. Now can you help or not."

I considered the three while they waited impatiently. Sighing I gestured for them to enter, "Sure, I can help, why don't you tell me what's going on in the first place though." I suggested.

This time it was Bella that growled, though hers wasn't nearly as impressive. "We don't have time to explain, we have to go Now!" She all but shouted.

I rolled my eyes, "Of course you have time, even if you take ten hours explaining it you'll still get there faster than you would on a plane." That brought her up short. Clearly she had been hoping for a magical method of travel, but I don't think she actually considered what that might mean.

"Oh." She said, seemingly draining of some of her angst. She then proceeded to explain a rather outlandish and ridiculous scenario, in which her beau had heard of her supposed death and become not only suicidal, but more melodramatic than Bella herself, and intended to off himself by convincing the Volturi to kill him.

I had incredibly difficult time of not laughing in response.

In the end, however, I had provided them with an overpowered portkey, that may or may not have been unnecessarily rough in transit, and got them there only half an hour after they had come hammering on my door.

It was only as I was returning to an interesting movie about robots and their revolution from the Three Laws, which they all obeyed and that I probably couldn't have understood or appreciated without my recent return to the muggle world, that I realized that the portkey had been one way, and I had no idea how they intended to explain to the authorities how they had gotten into Italy in the first place.

My smile might have been more than merely my enjoyment of a good movie.

o0O0o

When Bella returned from her excursion to Italy she stopped by my house to thank me, though the gratitude did seem slightly forced - perhaps she was remembering my poorly worded comment from before. Either way I was able to weasel the story out of her, I _am _a rather curious individual, as my myriad misadventures at Hogwarts ought to have proved. Anyways it was an incredibly anti-climactic story of Alice guiding them to a place they couldn't help but meet Edward and a sappy reunion that only works in teenage girl's imaginations ensued.

None of that really interested or bothered me at all, however, it turned out this meant the return of the entire Cullen coven and a rather tense standoff between the vampires and Quileute wolves. In the end, because Bella had been the one to introduce me to the wolves they chose to cease all contact with me, whereas before when we had been cooperating in the effort to catch Victoria they had all been rather amiable. It wasn't a terrible blow or anything, but I had come to like the boys' company, even if only on occasion and in small doses.

Life continued on and I enjoyed muggle school, despite its slowness at time, and it wasn't until there were only a few weeks left in the school year that I heard from either the wolves, vampires, or Ms. Swan. They were apparently angry that I hadn't dealt with a foreign vampire that had broken into Ms. Swan's house, after I had proved myself capable of doing so with Alice Cullen. I spent half an hour incredulously explaining that the difference between two vampires, magically, is so subtle that almost no ward is capable of discerning it, and that there had been a vampire either in or near Ms. Swan's house literally more often than not over the past months - how the hell was I supposed to know this one wasn't friendly, they certainly hadn't asked me to keep an eye out, and I hadn't exactly been received warmly when I'd stepped in the last time. In the end I sent them away and told them I was not a service they could demand the use of whenever they wanted. Unfortunately the confrontation had put me a bit off kilter and I spent the remainder of the day in a foul mood.

**** I have noticed that many people think sleep is the body recovering - that isn't true, yes the body can recover better when you're asleep and it does most of its growing while you sleep, however, sleep is primarily your MIND recovering. Sleeping and dreaming is when the subconscious essentially reviews what is going on in your head and edits your habits, knowledge and reflexes to reflect that - it's why when you play a new video game for hours on end, you'll often dream of it; that is your mind replaying the game and learning. There have been actual studies and experiments to prove this.**

**A/N So there is the much compressed memories in this chapter, covering two years since last chapter in a little over a thousand words - please tell me if anything is difficult to understand or you have any other complaints about it.**

**Also this chapter is particularly short, though I feel that getting it out so soon after the last and shoving so much time from the memories into it allows me the leeway. Also next chapter Harry should be meeting Seth again, and at this point in the story he's already a wolf. I don't think it takes a genius to figure out what's going to happen, but I think I'll still surprise you.**

**Also, perhaps a little anti-climactic, however, that's it as far as the Volturi go in this story (as far as I've planned thus far at least, I don't know yet if I'll do anything with or about renesmee (hideous name)), Bella and Alice will get to Edward before he ever comes in contact with Aro and the Volturi won't take any interest in the Cullen Coven.**


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Okay men. And women. This is it. The big one. The one we've all been waiting for... (who can recognize it?)**

o0O0o

_-August 1997-_

_Harry grinned across the desk towards Albus, giddy now that they had finally completed the last ritual and had been able to beat Albus, hands down, in the last five duels they had had. He was finally ready. Although, he was a little confused as to why Albus had moved back behind his desk; Albus had long ago given up the position in favor of sitting in another of his plush chairs, across from Harry as they had their discussions. His position today spoke of an official talk._

_Albus sighed heavily, looking at Harry with an unveiled sadness that Harry had only ever glimpsed before. It scared him, though he would never admit it. "I am sorry, my boy, but now that you are as ready as I can make you, the time has come for me to come clean." I shifted slightly. What could Albus have to tell me that made him this uncomfortable? What could Albus have concealed from me? "You must understand, I was getting old and I needed to pass on my knowledge to an apprentice. When the prophecy was revealed I thought it answered all my prayers; I would train you, but with Tom on the loose I didn't have the luxury of waiting until your schooling was complete, I had to start earlier." There was a pleading edge to Albus' voice that put me on edge and sent adrenaline shooting through my body. "You must understand, Harry, I did it for the greater good."_

_I froze. Rigid in my chair. Those words. Those terrible words. What could possibly make Albus speak those words? "What did you do?" There was a bite to my voice I had never before heard in it; it surprised me. I was no fool, I knew that Albus had manipulated me at times, that he had pushed me, and even occasionally strong armed me. However, he knew that I knew, he couldn't be trying to come clean about any of that. It had to be worse than that. It had to be so bad that Albus was afraid to tell me, that he waited until now, that he would dare use those words. _

_Albus still didn't answer, instead he was wringing his hands in such an uncharacteristic show of nerves. He looked up from his hands, his eyes begging me to understand, even as he seemed incapable of speaking. My own nerves were getting to me, whatever it was I needed to know. "What. Did. You. Do." He opened his mouth to answer, but just as quickly shut it, without speaking. I could feel my fury spiking in response to my fear and confusion. _

_I did something then that I had never done before, that I had never even considered doing before. I flared my aura and focused it on Albus, just as he had taught me, and then I commanded, allowing the magic of my aura to seep into my voice, _"Answer Me, Albus Dumbledore."

_Albus went rigid in his chair, trying to resist the compulsion so much stronger than even Tom was ever able to produce unconsciously. Then the dam broke and he was babbling so quickly I almost couldn't catch what he said. I wish I couldn't._

_He told me of how he had placed me with the Dursleys, well aware of the abuse I would suffer, because it would help prepare me for the hardship I would face fighting Voldemort. He told me that all those books I found so fascinating as a child were really books he had planted with powerful compulsions on them so that I would find them and read them; so I would unknowingly start my training earlier. However, it was the last thing he said that was the worst, the very worst. He told me that in the day after my parents had died and before I was left on the steps of the Dursleys he taken me and laid a compulsion so powerful that it was placed not with a spell, but that he had reached into my psyche and placed the compulsion directly into my subconscious. That he had changed it – changed me. He laid the compulsion so long ago, while I was so young, and so powerfully that it would be beyond impossible to remove it now; I was forever slave to this compulsion that he had wired into my mind: To never use my power or knowledge, directly or indirectly, to harm an innocent. After all, he said, he was giving me a great deal of power with what he had taught me; he had to be sure it wouldn't be abused._

_I stood from my seat as he fell silent, I released my iron control over my aura, allowing it to relax and release Dumbledore. He sat slumped behind his desk, tears streaming from his eyes, eyes that even now begged me to forgive. They were the eyes of a manipulator, of a puppeteer. When I could take it no longer I spun on my heel and fled the office. _

_I didn't stop until I had hidden myself away in the shadows of the Chamber of Secrets, a place not even Dumbledore could follow. I stared unseeing at the stripped carcass of the Basilisk, not taking in the sight blurred by my tears. He had been my mentor, my grandfather, and my friend. I had thought that he understood, just Harry; I knew he was training me to face Riddle, but even so I thought he had come to know and understand the scared boy behind the persona of The-Boy-Who-Lived._

_I scoffed through my tears, _of course he understood _just Harry_, he created him.

_The part that sent the hot flush of fury through my veins was that I knew it changed nothing. I was bound by the prophecy and by my own morals – whether they were morals I was born with or programmed with was irrelevant – I would continue to fight this fight until either I or Voldemort was dead, and I would continue to do it by Dumbledore's side, as it was with him that the greatest chance of success lay. _

o0O0o

I ran into one of the Quileute wolves, Seth Clearwater, while shopping one day. He must have been a newer member of the pack as the last time I'd seen him his aura hadn't had the distinctive volatile nature of the other wolves, and he had yet to fully lose his youthful appearance. In fact the moment he'd first seen me his aura had flared, incredibly so, startling me slightly. I guess it was some sort of instinctive warning from the magical wolves, a sort of watch out I'm here and I'm dangerous, and I won't take any crap sort of territorial response. I was a little impressed that the wolves had enough instinctive control over there aura's to make such a statement, though Seth's was the first I'd seen it. I suppose the other wolves must have told him about me by the way he was staring, I guess he thought, being a wizard - warlock - whatever, that I would capture toads and boil them for my meals. It was slightly amusing to see the kid's awe, though I admit it was also a little off putting in its intensity. I made my purchases and left, all the while becoming increasingly uncomfortably aware of his gaze on my back.

I'd only been home for a few hours when I got a call from the Quileute pack, asking me to come by sometime in the morning, I agreed to see them then and was admittedly slightly pleased; it'd been too long since I'd hung out with the wolves at all, and I'd actually missed it.

o0O0o

I stepped out of the woods near Emily's house, the seemingly official wolf headquarters. I know it was actually rather lame, but I had once gotten an image in my head of the wizard mysteriously stepping from between the trees, mist at his feet; it was overly dramatic, and almost completely pointless, but I enjoyed these little dramatized moments and always made sure as few people as possible actually saw my arrivals or departures - I must, after all, if I want to live up to and maintain the my mystique as a warlock.

When I knocked on the door and let in, it was to the sight of a rather packed kitchen, pun unintended. There was, of course, Emily and her fiancé, Sam Uley, and several of the other wolves from the pack - I could recognize Jacob Black, Paul Someone, Jared Someone-Else, Seth Clearwater, and his sister Leah, but there were still a few others I couldn't put a name to. In addition to those there was Sue Clearwater, Seth and Leah's mother. The atmosphere was distinctly strained, and only Seth seemed to be in a good mood - his perpetual happiness, that I'd been able to see the one time we'd truly met during the shared meal at the Black's, shining through.

"I take it, from the incredibly warm welcome I'm receiving, that this isn't just a social visit." I said with a smile. I'd suspected as much when I'd gotten the call out of the blue last night, but it was still slightly disappointing.

"It most certainly isn't." Sue Clearwater said, the frost in her voice apparent. I hadn't noticed before, but now it seemed obvious that whatever was going on, had Mrs. Clearwater quite bothered.

I smiled a little nervously, trying, and failing to lighten the mood a tad. "I haven't done anything to offend you, ma'am, have I?" I asked, because it was seeming, more and more every moment, as if I had.

All eyes in the room turned towards her. She noticed the looks and for a moment her expression faltered before it regained its strength. She drew in a deep, sharp breath and spoke in as clipped a voice as McGonagall had ever achieved. "No. However, certain events have made it necessary for us to reveal to you more about our history and nature."

I raised my eyebrow, slightly incredulous, I had been not so subtly trying to pry into the pack dynamic and history; trying to discover more about the shape-shifters and how they came about, however, even though we had been on friendly terms they hadn't trusted me enough to reveal much and I hadn't wanted to invade their privacy or minds to find out.

Now it seemed something had changed their minds - and Mrs. Clearwater wasn't at all pleased about it.

Well far be it from me to complain, so I made myself comfortable in one of the seats at the table. "If you will," I gestured for her to continue. "You've certainly piqued my interest." I said.

She settled herself in her own seat across from me. "The majority of the details are irrelevant, and you can be filled in at your leisure some other time. What is important, however, is that our people did not originate as shape-shifters, but as spirit warriors, capable of leaving their bodies to fight in the spirit realm. As spirit warriors they could influence anything with a spirit and it was a fight that left one of our greatest chieftains without a body to return to, eventually necessitating for him to take the body of a great wolf that consented to share its body."

I considered the story as she continued to tell of the chieftain eventually returning to his tribe and a great fury, too human in nature for the wolf's body, allowing him to take on the form of his spirit - a human form - and it was from him that all of the shape-shifters were descended. It seemed to me that this was a nice, pretty creation story that was loosely based upon whatever magic must have created the wolves, from the sound of it, it must have been some sort of soul transference magic - an all together different approach than any I had previously been aware of. All the forms I knew were based strongly in the mental and physical realms of magic.

My attention eventually returned to her as she finished the story. "Our origins as spirit warriors has left the wolves of our tribe with one other notable ability, that of recognizing and forever bonding to our spirit match, or soul mate." She said, going on to explain the barest details of Imprinting.

I snorted in amusement, ignoring her affronted look and the other wolves reactions. "There's no such thing as soul mates; there is no deity who plays house with our lives - in fact, the only beings who might have the power are rather obsessed with non-interference - and finally the universe is not so cruel as to create a creature with a soul so damaged that it is incomplete. The idea of soul mates is an overly dramatized theme belonging to fairytales." I said, not sparing them any; really to reach adulthood and still believe in soul mates was a little pathetic.

There was a long moment of silence while they figured out just how to respond, several looking as if they were barely restraining themselves. Finally Mrs. Clearwater spoke. "Many would and have agreed with that view in the past, instead they had, until recently, adopted the belief that the recognition is that of the most suitable candidate to carry on the shape-shifter genes and ability into the next generation -"

I interrupted with another poorly stifled laugh. "That's an even worse theory." I said, not bothering to hide my incredulity that they could believe it. "If you were somehow meant to ensure there would be more of you in the future, then you'd have just been given overactive libidos and lower inhibitions." I quirked a smile at that phrasing, it was very pc, I thought.

Their reactions weren't so kindly, and I belatedly realized that perhaps there should be a cap on the number of beliefs of theirs I shatter in a single sitting. Jared frowned, "If it they aren't soul mates and they aren't an 'Ideal genetic match' - as we already knew as of yesterday - then why do you think is the reason for our imprinting?" He challenged.

I considered the question seriously for a moment, and they waited mostly silently as I did, my eyes roving over the crowd. Why would they - seemingly randomly - pick someone out of the crowd and become dedicated to them far beyond normal levels of obsession? My eyes landed on Paul, the one with the worst anger issues of the lot of them, and I smiled.

"Simple." I said. "Insurance; a fail-safe." My lips quirked slightly at their confusion. "You are all stronger, faster, and far, far more dangerous than any normal human. On top of that you're all also rather emotionally volatile because of the transformation, making you even more dangerous. Binding yourselves to a weak emotionally stable human to act as a constant and obvious Achilles' heel is a rather obvious means of ensuring that your kind never get out of control. In fact by being dedicated solely to a single individual, you are likely to have fewer children than you might have otherwise, completely opposite your previous theory and a good way for your creator to have made certain your kind didn't get out of control.

"After all," I continued, now really getting into my stride. "Vampires and virtually every other magical creature out there today were once experiments of wizards, and the majority of those were in the pursuit of a perfect weapon. And something every wizard is sure to include when making a weapon is a way to insure it can't be used against them." The bitterness that had slipped into that last statement brought me up short and brought me back from my world of magical theory to the present.

The room was deadly silent, some looked positively furious while others looked rather devastated by what I'd said. I closed my eyes tightly for a moment, truly realizing just what it was I'd been saying so carelessly.

I stood and shuffled a hand through my hair. "My apologies. That was not at all something appropriate to say. I've let my years of solitude and study show through in my careless words." I sighed heavily. "I will relieve you of my company now, and once again I must apologize for my tactless and appalling gauche."

I made my exit quickly, striding through the kitchen door and back out of the house, no one moved to stop me. I Shifted back to my own house the moment I was unobserved.

Standing in the atrium of the house I considered my words once more, further disgusted by myself. "You really buggered that up didn't you, Potter." In those moments in the house I had once more been faced with a curiosity of an ancient magic and I hadn't in that moment stopped to consider that this curiosity was a group of people and not merely a thing to be detachedly analyzed and laid bare. I stood by what I'd said, I did think it was true, but that had been no way to present it to the individuals concerned - no way at all. I pinched the bridge of my nose sharply, if the wolves were keeping their distance before, it'd be nothing compared to now, I'd reckon.

And even after all of that, we'd never even gotten to the point of the meeting so I still had no idea why they decided to suddenly share, what they wanted from me, or even what I still didn't know that they had planned to tell me if I'd kept my silence.

o0O0o

The silence in the kitchen after Harry had left was oppressive. No one moved or said anything for the longest time before Jared finally shifted to look at Seth who looked a wreck, "Why didn't you say anything?" He asked, his tone just shy of accusatory.

Seth flinched ever so slightly, but it was obvious in the stillness. "You heard what he said. I'll have to convince him some other way. Maybe once he sees me differently - I just need him to get to know me as me before he rejects it." He said softly. Embry who was sitting closest to him nodded and squeezed his shoulder in support. The gesture, however, was interrupted by Paul standing and slamming his chair back into place beneath the table.

"Well don't expect me or any other self respecting member of the pack to have anything to do with that fucking ass!" He shouted before storming from the house, his fists visibly vibrating.

**Review Please!**

**A/N Well all is obviously not well in forks... **

**Also that should be it for any memories of Harry's - I might have something similar to introduce the Stargate universe to anyone who is unfamiliar with it, but that would be much, much smaller in scale and faster as well (fewer chapters would be interrupted by it).**


	13. Chapter Twelve

**A/N IMPORTANT** this chapter came out yesterday, but I added another thousand words of scenes to the end, so if you've already read the beginning skip ahead a bit. **

o0O0o

Once I had returned home and calmed down after my less than ideal meeting with Quileute wolves, I chose to distract myself with an old project idea that I had given up as too complicated to pursue years ago. It was a runic array designed in three dimensions instead of two. I compared the challenge to making a three dimensional crossword puzzle from scratch, except I had to make sentences with correct grammatical structure that all linked together to form a single purpose and I wasn't allowed blank spots that would interrupt the flow of magic. The only thing that made it slightly easier is that with runes they could each stand for an entire concept on their own, and I didn't have to worry so much about any individual letters.

Even so I'd given this, my first three-D array, almost a solid twelve hours of effort over the past day or so and it was only twenty-seven runes in total, a three by three by three cube. Even more disappointing was that the array was only meant to give light - something that can be done easily with even just a single rune. It was, however, possible to refine such a runic spell by making a runic sentence or array, so I had thought I might be able to refine it even further by adding this third dimension.

Now was the moment of truth, I had gone over the array in every conceivable order and direction to make sure that there weren't any conflicts or issues, and all that was left was to power it.

I did so, admittedly slightly wary that it could blow up in my face.

It didn't, however, and I was instead bathed in a warm soothing light that seemed to seep into and past my skin to warm my heart as well. I couldn't help but smile.

In the exact center of the array was a rune I had created back in Hogwarts with Fawkes' aid; I called it Light/Phoenix rune as the totem I created had been covered in all the ancient runes for the concepts of good and positive things and then used a relatively simple runic array to capture and hold the essence of the most powerful Patronus I could summon. I had finished the totem by lacquering it in a solution of Phoenix tears and blood. The end result had been a deep beautiful reddish colored rune that the tingled and felt warm to the touch. As I had hoped, the qualities seemed to have passed over to the light produced by the array I created.

It had taken a ridiculous amount of effort to get the right combination and order of runes, but it was most definitely worth it; even after only feeling the effects for a few minutes I had already decided I would replace all the lights in my house with these things, it didn't at all distract, but it was a comfort just being under its light.

A thought occurred to me and I quickly pulled my magic away from my hand before creating a small cut, enough to draw blood, but nothing serious. Holding my hand directly over the light I watched as it slowly sealed over, much more slowly than if I'd allowed the phoenix tears in my blood to act, but still faster than was natural.  
>I sat back contemplating the light, it seemed that the LightPhoenix rune had a greater effect than I'd suspected. It was a pity that I wouldn't be able to publish this array without also being forced to publish every detail about the runes in it. There was a reason that runes couldn't be used by non-magical people; the rune had to be created with at least a little bit of magic that contained the intent of the user, and the intent had to match that of the rune itself. That was the reason that you had to know the meanings of every rune you used, otherwise you could copy a runic array of a powerful ward identically, but if you didn't know the meaning of each individual rune and didn't push your magic into the runes with matching intent, the entire thing would be completely useless. It was like a very carefully constructed key made of two components the physical shape and the magical meaning that would then unlock the magical potential and abilities of the rune.

Even so, now that I had the correct combination of runes it would be easy to create a few dozen of these lights and, if I was feeling particularly generous, I might create dozens more to send to Saint Mungo's for the long term care ward. I imagine the effects of the light over a long period of time could do the patients a lot of good; especially with the positive emotion they engendered.

I was just about begin designing the spells I would need to imbed the runes in layers on my walls when my wards alerted me to a visitor.

I frowned, it was one of the Quileute wolves; this probably wouldn't be a friendly meeting.

Sighing I stood and headed to the door, dodging around the cluttered mess that was my study, I really should take the time to clean it up and dispose of the evidence of past experiments, but due to the magic I had used in creating the majority of them I couldn't just vanish them safely, and I was too lazy to actually take the time and do it by hand.

The door opened to reveal Seth Clearwater, his hand already raised to ring the doorbell. "Oh, um, hi." He said surprised by the suddenly open doorway.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Clearwater." I asked, perhaps slightly too formally.

He smiled nervously and shuffled his feet slightly before squaring his shoulders and looking up with determination. "I know it's easy to misunderstand and be misunderstood, so I came by to give you the chance to explain your side of things so that there doesn't have to be a misunderstanding." He said in a slight rush.

I blinked, surprised, definitely not what I was expecting, but I wouldn't turn down the opportunity. "I- thank you, for - well. Just, thank you" I shook my head, organizing my thoughts into something coherent. "Please come in, would you like anything to eat or drink?" I said, stepping back and holding the door open for him.

He slid past me, his gaze taking in my houses decorations and adornments with curiosity. He nodded slightly absentmindedly, "I would, thanks. Anything that's available." He smiled slightly sheepishly, "The transformation gave all of our metabolisms huge boosts."

I nodded and directed him into the lounge. "I'll throw something together, make yourself comfortable and I'll be back in a moment."

It only took a moment to throw a sandwich platter together with magic and pull several different drinks from the refrigerator, including a couple butterbeers.

The food and drink followed me into the room and settled down on the rich cherry wood coffee table as I sat myself. I sighed, running my hand through my hair, "An explanation." Seth turned his attention from the food that he'd been watching slightly warily, as if expecting it to jump of the plate at any moment. "I have since thought of a -" I paused groping for the right word, "A less cynical way of viewing the Quileute wolves and their imprints. However, the main point, which I think is and will be most difficult for you to accept is that, whatever the reason, your creation was not natural. Magic doesn't happen by coincidence, it doesn't even truly happen on accident, something as complex and incredible as your transformations would take decades of careful study and planning to make work magically - not something that could just come about in nature."

Most people think magic is like a force of nature, but really it's more unnatural than anything else in the universe, capable of bending or breaking every law of nature all at once, while at the same time changing nothing. Magic isn't natural to the dimension or space we live in, that is what makes wizards and witches different; it's their ability to pull the energy, or force, or whatever magic is exactly, from another layer of reality, into this one. Something that cannot happen naturally, it requires a force of will to achieve.

"My point is that even if the wolf transformation was designed purely to defend the tribe from vampires, you were still designed that way and imprinting - as you call it - is just another facet of that design.

He watched me, munching away on one of the sandwiches, as he considered my words. "After some consideration yesterday, I realized that Imprinting could very well merely be a method of emotionally anchoring the shifter, instead of some twisted form of control. Obviously there are limits and guides as to who may become an imprint, otherwise you'd all likely imprint on the first person you lay eyes on." I sighed, I was getting caught up in the theory of it again. "Anyway, you asked for an explanation for my behavior, not of the magic itself. I suppose the simplest way of putting it would be to say that over the years I have lost the rose-tinted glasses through which people initially see magic. I am very literally a war veteran, a magical war veteran, and I got to see some of the most horrible uses of magic that exist." I tried to give the surprised boy a reassuring smile, but it felt more like a grimace than anything.

Silence fell as Seth seemed to grapple with what he'd been told.

Eventually he finished the platter of sandwiches and fell to fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable in my presence. He seemed to gather himself before I could offer him an easy way out. He gestured with a nod of his head at the odd centerpiece I kept on the coffee table and asked what it was.

I smiled somewhat wryly at the almost waxy looking sphere with barely visible runes absolutely covering every side. "An utter and complete waste of a lot of time. I got it into my head at one point to create the magic computer. What you see is the final, and mostly completely useless, third attempt. Computers are only effective because of the incredibly large number of connections - of On, Off variables - ones and zeroes. To replicate it with magical runes I would very literally have to draw out a rune and tie it into whatever sequence I wanted by hand - tens of thousands of almost identical runes. And even if I did have the patience to do so I would have to do the same for every other one I ever created, there'd be no shortcut to mass producing it.

"With that particular one I was attempting to create a runic array that would create those connections as a result and not a direct translation." I reached out with my wand and tapped the top of the sphere, watching as it slowly bloomed to show that it was actually made up of dozens upon dozens of sheets, each covered by miniscule runes which glowed and pulsed with barely visible light as individual runes activated and deactivated according to its function. I appreciated Seth's awed exclamation, even if the thing was just a table ornament now. "That took me almost two years of rather dedicated work, and it barely even manages to do half what the handheld calculator of today can. After that I figured there were just some things technology is infinitely better at and gave the idea up for the failure it was."

Seth almost seemed to want to argue, but in the end settled for, "Well it certainly looks cool."

I smiled my gratitude for the sentiment and gave him the out he'd been looking for earlier, before things could once more become awkward. "I'm glad you think so, however, I have some redecorating planned for today that I shouldn't put off, so if there is nothing else?" So perhaps it wasn't so much an out as a polite 'get lost', but I never claimed to be the smoothest of talkers.

"Oh - um, of course, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Seth stumbled over himself to apologize and leave all at once only stopping with a foot literally out the door to turn back and ask rather hesitantly. "You wouldn't mind if I come by another time, would you?"

I was surprised, pleasantly so too, I'd figured this was a polite way of ending relations with the Quileutes and they'd merely sent the most cheerful of the lot to do the deed. "Not at all. Stop by whenever you want."

I briefly caught sight of a bright smile before the door clicked shut behind him.

o0O0o

"What's this?" Seth asked, gesturing towards a small, very well cared for leather bound book set on display on a bookshelf.

I smiled at the book, lifting it from its setting. _The Will and The Way_, it said in glossy golden calligraphy on the cover. "A book I wrote a few years ago about the nature of magic - the title's a play on words on the 'Will and the Word' from David Eddings' Belgariad; I read the stories and rather enjoyed them and his will and word really weren't that far off the mark.

"Anyway, most wizards and witches don't bother delving into the how of magic unless it pertains to their specific expertise, just learning the bare necessities of whatever branches they don't specialize in.

"So when I had unusual opportunity to study more than one way of using magic - channeling as they called it at the Tower Academy, and spellcasting from Hogwarts - I decided to publish part of what I discovered and knew about magic. The entire book is various different examples and ways of explaining that magic is a force of will to see a specific result and an understanding - no matter how flawed it may be - of seeing that result done. Thus the Will and Way."

"Cool," Seth said, intrigued by the concept. "I don't suppose I could read it, could I?" He asked hopefully.

I smiled and held the book out to him, "Sure, and you don't even have to worry about damaging it, there's enough protective spells and wards on it that you could drop it in a blazing bonfire and it wouldn't even be singed. Just bring it back when you're done. You've certainly been stopping by often enough."

He smiled at me, accepting the book carefully despite what I'd said - or perhaps because of it, I couldn't be sure.

o0O0o

"Wow, Harry, this stuff is incredible it'd put Coca-cola out of business hands down. Are you sure there isn't any way I could get my hands on some?" Seth said, sprawled over my couch, completely comfortable with a bottle of butterbeer in his hand.

I smiled at the teen, "I'm afraid not, it's only sold in the wizarding world. Though I can send you home with a case or two if you'd like." He toasted me with a cheerful smile and already half empty bottle. "I'm afraid, however, that Butterbeer, despite its incredible taste, could never actually compete with Coca-cola. Because of the magic necessary to make it and the small number of breweries I'd be surprised if they make more than a hundred thousand barrels a year, whereas I'd be equally surprised if coca-cola made any less than a couple dozen billion bottles and cans in a year." He seemed to ponder this for a moment before shrugging and going back to his drink.

o0O0o

"Hey Harry, Live Free or Die Hard is in theatres, I was wondering if you wanted to go see it, we could make it a date." Seth asked, his shoulders hunched and hands stuffed in his pockets.

I considered it for a bit, I wasn't too terribly fond of movies, never having gotten to watch them when I was little, but it sounded fun enough.

"Sure, when were you thinking of going." I asked, watching curiously as Seth breathed a sigh of relief his shoulders relaxing as he removed his hands from his pockets and gave me a blazingly bright smile.

"Whenever you want. We could go tonight even." He continued to smile bouncing a bit.

I realized then what was going on - Seth was a teenager and they only ever think of a date as romantic, clearly the kid had a bit of a crush and thought I'd just agreed to date him, not just go to the movies. I frowned wondering when this had started, he was probably just attracted to all the interest new bits of magic I could introduce him to and had confused that for actual romantic feelings. I figured that in the future I should probably avoid magic as a topic of conversation, that way he'd get bored with me faster and not confuse himself. However, until then I needed to correct this before he got too much the wrong impression. "Seth." I said seriously, he hummed in response looking up from his phone which he'd been using to look up showing times. "I'm agreeing to go to the movies with you, nothing else, I don't want you to get the wrong impression; I don't date romantically and even if I did, you and I are not an appropriate couple."

He frowned fiercely, his phone and hand dropping to his side as he focused fully on the conversation. "I know you aren't dating anyone right now, but I didn't realize you were a homophobe." He said slightly aggressively.

I sighed. "That isn't it at all, I am merely much too old for you." I said, giving the best and easiest excuse in my arsenal, one he'd hopefully accept easily once he realized just how much older I was.

"What!" He shouted. "You're barely two years older than me, that's hardly too big an age gap at all."

I shook my head. "You are already aware that I am a wizard, what you don't realize is that much like the Cullens my appearance is not indicative of my age. I was born in 1980, not 1990. You are fourteen almost fifteen and I am twenty-seven . There is no possibility of a relationship between us." I spoke firmly, hoping to settle things now.

He stood there stunned for a while before stepping over to the door and opening it to leave, he stopped with the door already partially open and looked back at me with a determined look on his face. "I'll change your mind." He said simply, before the door shut behind him.

o0O0o

**A/N Okay so I was inspired by an amazing review to write this today and not put it off. So here is the modified chapter twelve.**

**Thanks for reading and please tell me what you think in a Review :)**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**A/N Okay for all of you wondering, since Edward, Bella, and Alice didn't actually run into the Volturi, Aro didn't get the chance to read their lives and realize just how much a threat the Cullen coven had/would become. Thus when they saw the signs of a vampire carelessly raising a newborn army in Seattle, they didn't allow it to go unchecked and instead dealt with it immediately. (Meaning Victoria is most likely dead).**

**Also a little challenge for everyone! F. Arkobey (Can you figure it out? Think 'I am Lord Voldemort') I am considering it for the title of another Harry Potter story.**

-o0O0o-

It seemed that I had once again managed to miss the excitement, not that I minded terribly, but there had apparently been some vampire trying to create its own army in Seattle. Until the Volturi had stepped in and wiped them out - I'd been oblivious to the entire thing, despite being abundantly obvious to anyone who knew what signs to watch for. It wasn't like I went to Seattle for anything or actually bothered to read the newspaper. So I had learned about the whole thing from Seth, who had, himself, learned through some grapevine that lead back to the Cullens. I was actually quite surprised, but Seth had continued to show up at my place every few days even after I stopped showing him magic; he seemed all the more determined to learn about me as a person and prove to me that he wasn't too young. Really if it wasn't completely counterproductive to my position I might have found it kinda cute, but instead I decided it was just annoying.

It had in fact gotten so bad that I had started taking a headache potion preemptively whenever he crossed my secondary wardline, just so that I could make it through his visits. Luckily with the approach of summer holidays and their attending end of year exams, he hadn't had nearly as much time to come bother me as he had previously.

In the time he wasn't taking up space on my couch or food out of my icebox I'd managed design a - in my own humble opinion - rather brilliant design for my new lights. It had taken a couple dozen more runes in a bounding array at the edges of the three-dimensional array I had originally come up with, however, I had been able to tie it in so that the light drew some of its warmth from its surroundings, gaining some power from the Futhark rune of paradox; in this way it kept the ice in which I had placed the entire rune from ever melting. The more heat the ice was exposed to, the warmer the light would become, but would pull the heat from the ice so that it never melted. Then all I had need to do was to cut out small niches in the walls that I transfigured the interior of to be reflective, then place and anchor the cube in its new setting. The end effect had been quite pleasing, and I had even entertained myself by placing the lights in the walls in artful arrangements; at least that's what I told myself when I gave up trying to keep a line of them at a level height.

One thing I blamed entirely on Seth was that he had managed to introduce and addict me to modern music. I had never had the opportunity as a child in the Dursley household and the wizarding world's music tended to be rather horrible for the simple fact that they try to make it pleasing to too many different ears at once; after all, what's nice sounding to a merperson isn't at all musical sounding to a centaur or goblin, let alone a wizard.

All the same, Seth had taken to introducing me to different music when he learned I only ever listened to any by happenstance and had none in my house. I had only lasted a week before I had bought an embarrassingly high quality radio and sound system. Seth had given me such a pleased and satisfied look when he'd seen it that I'd had to down another headache potion on the spot - really, he never took anything I said or did as anything but encouragement.

Still watching him sprawled out across my couch like he'd been there his entire life was slightly amusing - less amusing was how much butterbeer he went through, I'd been forced to put in a special order and now had a full barrel, which included magically expanded interior, sitting in my kitchen. I'd made sure he didn't see that addition, afraid he'd see it as another victory and actually cheer or something equally inappropriate. Just because I enjoy his company and went a little out of my way to make him more comfortable in my house doesn't at all mean I reciprocate his feelings. And I'm a wizard so the three thousand miles I had to go to speak to someone at a dedicated butterbeer factory _wasn't _out of my way. _Really_.

These headaches truly were bothersome.

"Hey Harry, where'd you get to, the movie's about to start." Seth shouted from the couch.

My lips twitched slightly, really I ought to just give him the couch he was so comfortable in it and attached to it. I wasn't more than three feet away standing in the doorway watching him, yet he couldn't be arsed to so much as twitch a muscle to look for himself. I frowned suddenly, I couldn't remember what I'd been doing here in the first place, I'd gotten so lost in my thoughts watching him.

Pushing off from the doorjamb I made my way further into the room, dodging around his rather haphazardly splayed limbs on the way to the recliner. A warm hand snaked out and grabbed my arm, pulling me sharply down onto the couch and the hard planes of a very warm body.

My first thoughts were distinct annoyance that he was taller and bigger than me; I may be perfectly healthy and much older at a respectable five' eleven'', but the damn wolf transformation meant he was already a giant of six' four'' at barely fifteen years old.

The injustice of it kept me occupied for only a few seconds before the fact that he'd pulled me into his lap truly registered with my mind and I huffed in annoyance. Pushing off him I stood and took the few remaining steps necessary to reach the safety of the recliner. The pouting pleading look he gave me when I had sat myself had my headache returning with a vicious vengeance.

I squeezed my eyes shut as pain flashed behind my lids and danced across the top of my head to come to a throbbing rest at the base of my skull. I fumbled for a pain relieving potion with clumsy fingers for a moment before draining it with a disgusted sigh - truly disgusting taste, but the almost immediate dulling of the pain was worth it.

I leapt back in my seat when I opened my eyes to Seth's curious and concerned look only a few inches in front of my own. He'd caught me taking the potion a few times before, but seemed to catch on to my reluctance to share, as he'd never before asked. "Harry?" He said it quietly, his concern showing through, and dammit I didn't want to blow him off. There was a warning throb at the back of my head as I hesitated for a long moment and three doses in less than an hour would be less than advised, even so I could already feel the tempting call of the vial in my pocket. "Will you tell me?"

I sighed in frustration, vial in my hand serving as a convenient distraction from his expression. "It isn't anything to be concerned about Seth, just some headache remedy, I've been getting them recently."

"Do you know what's brining them on?" He asked.

I snorted, partially amusement and the rest a confusing mix of things I didn't want to figure out. "You." I answered honestly and bluntly. He looked hurt for a moment and I immediately regretted my response.

"I didn't realize my presence was so distressing." I think he meant it defensively but it came across so lost I was tempted for a long moment to try and comfort him. The unmitigated, sudden and enthusiastic return of my headache put an end to those thoughts as I failed to mask another wince. He flinched, seeming to sense my returning pain. In a swift and fluid move he was standing across the room his fingers viciously carding through his own hair in frustration. "I don't understand." He said loudly. "This isn't how things are supposed to go. Everything is going wrong." He spoke, his voice raised and cracking. "I Imprinted on you. We're supposed to get along at the very least! But my very presence hurts you?" He spun around staring at me beseechingly, "I don't understand." He spoke once more, quietly, lost almost.

_Imprinted?_

That's what they called their ridiculous soulmate idea, wasn't it? He says he imprinted on me?

And then it made sense. It all made sense.

His over eager attention the first time we met after his transformation in the store. The meeting the very next day with the Quileute Wolves in which his mother had been so upset and they had been explaining imprinting; the meeting had never had another topic that they were going to move on to before I put my foot in it - they were already talking about it. And. And.

And the headaches made sense too. My eyes slid shut slowly, almost by their own accord it almost seemed. I was feeling too much at the moment. I couldn't sort through it all - I couldn't think through it - I had to approach this rationally. And to do that I needed my emotions to go away for a moment.

I drew in a deep shuddering breath and as I slowly breathed out over a count of fourteen I locked my emotions down and away with iron control. When I opened my eyes to see Seth watching me closely, waiting and hoping for an answer, he must have seen some of the coldness in my eyes because he flinched violently.

"You should have told me about this in the beginning." I said, distantly, almost clinically. "It would have saved both of us a great deal of trouble and pain." I didn't stand or fidget, but placed the now empty vial of headache potion down on the coffee table and folded my hands in my lap. "Again you have assumed me to be the same as everyone else out there, just with the small addition of some supernatural abilities on the side. You think of me as a human wizard, a boy that you can woo if you are persistent enough. But that isn't true." I said.

He had backed himself against the wall, perhaps bracing himself there, I thought absently - truly this was a fascinating situation, so many of our thoughts and desires were so very closely tied with our emotions that I now seemed to have trouble understanding Seth when only moments before everything had made complete sense. Still I remembered what I had realized and that was enough to see where things had to go. "I am not boy to be wooed, and I am not human enough to ever return your feelings," he made some sound in the back of his throat, half between a protesting growl and a whine. "I am first and foremost a weapon of war. A war long past, but that only serves to make me more irrelevant, not the fact that I was its weapon. I do not possess the emotional capacity to initiate or continue a relationship with you. Had you told me about the imprinting earlier on it would have been far better as there wouldn't have been any substance or strength to any bond between the two of us and would therefore be much simpler to break."

At the last words he really did seem to whimper, and I spent a moment pondering the animal mannerisms that had crossed over to his human form. "T-that's it? Just because you have some emotional hang up and a bad past you won't even give us a try?" Seth asked loudly.

I tilted my head slightly, wondering if the body language meant anything to his wolf side. "Correct, because I know the inevitable result of any ill conceived attempt at romance between the two of us." I said. I smiled, this was the part that I should comfort him, I knew. This would be an emotional situation for him, even if it wasn't for me.

He stared at me in horror, and I thought perhaps my comfort wasn't very successful - best if he goes to someone who can do it properly then. "Please leave."

There was an audible thump as his head hit the wall when he flinched this time. "W-what?" He asked, only a whisper of sound escaping his lips.

I tried the smile again, perhaps it would work better this time. "Please leave, Seth." I gestured towards the door in case he needed it, I couldn't be sure how emotions would be affecting him.

There were a few moments where he stood still staring at me, seeming to search my face for something desperately. I showed him my smile again, in case that was what he was looking for. I noticed his hand was shaking, just the one though, the other was pressed firmly against his stomach as though he was going to be sick. And then the moment was broken and the door shuddered shut with such force I wondered for a moment if I might need to repair it.

Truly without emotions things were quite simple - _ah_ - I'd almost forgotten that I would now need to release the barriers I'd put up, even holding them this long was incredibly dangerous.

With a detached attentiveness I released my occlumatic control of my mind. For a long moment nothing seemed to happen and then every muscle in my body seemed to be seizing and my heart was thrashing in my chest beating so hard it was literally tearing itself apart and the headache I'd experienced before was replaced by one of such magnitude and pain as to make all others I'd previously experienced pale in comparison. As every emotion I should have been feeling over the past ten minutes of what admittedly should have been a very emotional conversation suddenly flooded my body at once my brain was very literally damaged and sending through my bloodstream such a potent mixture of chemicals as to make the rest of my body experience similar pains and symptoms. Only the phoenix tears in my blood and the rituals I had performed kept my heart beating steadily even if very quickly and repaired the damage almost as soon as it was done.

Finally when the tremors passed and I was left to blindly blunder my way through the myriad of emotions I was left feeling I lifted a slightly shaky hand to feel the blood at my nose and ears and the tears steadily streaming down my face. Now that I could feel them I felt the aching almost overwhelming longing in me to be able to accept. To be able to accept Seth and the possibility of a family and a future - a _real_ future. There was the sadness and regret that I could not and that in my unemotional state I had handled things so poorly. However, that was eclipsed by the anger at Dumbledore that this was so, that his moulding of me into the perfect weapon had forever left me incapable of true happiness.

I sighed and stood on weak legs, making my way over to the back window that overlooked my backyard that almost immediately disappeared into mossy forest.

Occlumency. A wonderful and incredibly useful tool. The very tool I had needed to get through that conversation and the very tool that made that conversation necessary.

You did not build your skill in occlumency in a day and you could not tear it down in a thousand nights. There is a reason occlumency is not taught to children in children's schools, despite the seemingly overwhelming positive results it possesses - children's minds are not developed enough yet.

To be successful in occlumency, one must know themselves, and, as I had just proven, emotion was a, if not the, foundation for thought. So one of the very first exercises of occlumency was to learn your emotions, your responses to things and what emotions they engendered. With that you teach your subconscious to recognize what emotions are yours and what emotions aren't, the first step in eventually teaching it what thoughts are yours and what aren't. I was thirteen when I built my foundation, a remarkably well adjusted thirteen year old for what I had gone through too. That, though, had been Dumbledore's work, he'd made sure I was stable and content with proper instruction and guidance when I was working to build my mind up.

But while I may have been well adjusted and even familiar with basic affection I knew nothing of love. Nothing at all of love. So when I built my foundation, the very foundation of my mind, love had no place in it. Now so many years later with weathered and strengthened occlumency my subconscious will reject love just as it does a foreign intrusion; for truly to my mind, love is and forever shall be foreign. That was the source of the headaches, a seemingly constant and low key invasion that my subconscious had been continuously fighting off.

That was perhaps the most painful thing, to know that were it not for those hard earned skills I was so dedicated to cultivating and so proud of achieving in school under Dumbledore's tutelage, I could and very possibly would be in love. I could tear down my occlumency. I could, but after almost fifteen years of constant use, improvement, and dependency I would be reduced to little more than an infant in intellect and capability. Whatever being might grow out of such an act would not be me.

I laughed sadly as I rested my head against the cold glass of the window, choking down a sob. I was not after all the only one that had run afoul of poorly learned occlumency. Hadn't Severus Snape himself learned the art near the end of his school years, such that it served him so well against the Dark Lord. Snape had not had the guidance of Dumbledore to help him, however, so when he had built his foundation he had built in his utter Hatred of James Potter, forever cementing that hatred in him and making foreign to him the concept of forgive and forget when it came to a Potter. Worse, perhaps, is that he built what he perceived to be his Love and Devotion to Lily Evans into his mind as well, forever making her his one true love, incapable of moving on and finding happiness elsewhere up to his dying day twenty years later.

And though I couldn't name any specific examples I think it obvious that Voldemort too fell afoul of occlumency, for surely to hide his opening of the chamber of secrets in Hogwarts and especially from Dumbledore he must have been well practiced at it by his sixth year. What could the world have been like if Tom Riddle was given more time to grow out of his hatred for all things living and his fear of death? Might he have one day taken up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, or had a dazzling career in the Ministry?

I found myself absently tracing patterns in the fog my breath had created on the glass of the window some interminable time later. I sighed, my breath erasing my work and leaving only traces of what I had been doing. Slowly I turned to survey the room.

I had brought myself out of my self imposed exile to try and reacclimate myself with social norms and situations. Well I had done what I could, but in the end this had been a mistake and a failure, perhaps I might try again in another seven years, but I doubted it.

With a long sweeping swish of my wand the room began to shift and tidy itself, the furniture shrinking and moving out of the way.

I had long overstayed my welcome in the world of humanity.

I would be gone by morning.

-o0O0o-

_Dear Seth_

_ I feel I owe you an explanation and an apology. I found myself rather overwhelmed last night and to deal with the situation as rationally as possible I retreated behind mental barriers and locked away my emotions. I do not wish to get your hopes up, because despite having my emotional capacity, such as it is, fully returned to me, I still stand firm in my belief that any attempt at a relationship between the two of us can only end in pain and heartache._

_ What I did not, perhaps, make clear last night, and I wish to now, is that it is not that I am incapable of loving you, but that I am incapable of loving period. I was a child soldier in a violent wizarding civil war and in that war much was sacrificed and lost by everyone it touched. I know not whether to classify my ability to love as a sacrifice made for the war or a loss to be attributed to it, because at the time I knew not that I was giving it up. However, I feel that had I known I would likely have proceeded anyway as it was the only way we could see to end the struggle that claimed so many good lives. Either way it is lost and cannot be returned to me, so that if I remained you would be focusing your attentions and hopes upon an individual not wholly human and incapable of giving you what you deserve._

_ I have no doubt that this parting will be painful for you as we did establish a bond of friendship that even now it pains me to break, but it is best that it is done. While I cannot claim omnipotence or omniscience I do know a great deal about magic and I have little doubt that when you accept me as gone you will begin to open yourself up to the possibility of a new bond and a new imprint that can reciprocate your feelings. To this end I shall be making magically certain that we will never again meet._

_ I hope you find Love and Happiness in your future._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry James Potter_

-o0O0o-

**End Part One**

-o0O0o-

**A/N Wow!... Well you should really thank rebebe for this update as the reviews have been stagnant the past couple weeks and tonight (a couple hours ago) I signed on and saw her reviews and began writing again - when I started earlier tonight all I had down was the first Authors note up at the top. Though admittedly I've known the ending to this chapter for quite some time now, I just had to pick the words and write it.**

**Please review.**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Well I have received some very helpful reviews and recommendations from one of my readers and he has helped bring my attention to some parts of the most recent chapters that aren't satisfactory - to either my readers or myself. So I am rewriting from this chapter on... See what can happen when you take the time to tell me what you think in a review? *hint hint***

o0O0o

Seth was exhausted, he hadn't managed to get any sleep the previous night and had only been waiting for the sun to rise to return to Harry's house to make him see reason. To make him see that no matter what, there was a chance for them; that he wouldn't like it - he may be a teenager and aware of the fact he's under the influence of hormones, but that didn't make him at all immune to them - but he was perfectly willing to wait till he'd be eighteen. The imprinting wasn't something that could just be thrown away, certainly it didn't create perfect relationships and both parties still had to work at it, but it was a lot more than just any random compatible person. He didn't care if Harry couldn't see that right now, he would someday, Seth would make sure of it.

He noticed something was wrong, though, as he approached the front door. Something was really, _really _wrong. The dark curtains that were always drawn over Harry's windows weren't there anymore and he could easily see into a completely empty room.

Seth sprinted the last few steps, hammering on the door and pushing the doorbell at once, "Harry! Come on, Harry!" He shouted at the solidly shut door. Harry was always answering the door the moment he got there, usually before he could even so much as knock.

But there was no answer this time.

The doorknob turned easily and the door slid open smoothly as he pushed his way into the house. Every room was the same, stripped bare of all furniture and belongings, walls freshly white. Harry was gone, and all that was left was a single letter addressed in an elegant hand to _Seth_ on thick creamy parchment paper, lying innocently on the corner of the kitchen counter.

o0O0o

Things had been hard for Seth since Harry had left. The other wolves in the pack hated him for it; they'd never really been comfortable with the idea, but that didn't change the fact that they were pack mates and what affected one of them affected all of them. Seth was angry, so very angry, betrayed even, but he didn't hate Harry - not for wounds of his past he couldn't control - and it hurt every time he felt as his own the other wolves thoughts about Harry.

He'd taken to staying untransformed as much as possible and retreating from the rest of the pack to avoid the pitying looks, but stuck on the reservation as he was, there wasn't any place he could go to truly escape it. Not while he stayed on the reservation.

It was now that he was truly grateful for the fact that he accepted and got along with the Cullen coven much better than the rest of the pack; Carlisle had made a call to a contact in the US government when Seth had mentioned the only thing that prevented him from enlisting was the fact that it'd be too obvious he wasn't human when it came to physical injuries, performance, and bloodwork - after all, with his physical abilities and senses he would very easily pass any tests and any branch of the military would help pay for college and life after he served.

Apparently Carlisle knew a vampire who worked in the government coordinating the employment of supernatural beings much like himself and other vampires, and would be able to smooth the way for him into the military with relatively little fuss. So Seth had accepted and would soon be enlisting with the marines, most likely he'd be shortlisted for special forces with his physical capabilities, but he wasn't overly worried about that.

Seth sighed gazing down at the cube of ice cold light in his hand, he'd found the light upon closer inspection of Harry's house, having clearly been missed when Harry packed his things and left. The light felt almost like a metaphor for their relationship, a frozen warmth that grew colder the harder you tried to hold on to it. He closed his eyes tightly as his fingers closed around the light, feeling the biting sting of cold and soothing warmth all at once. Sighing he tucked the light into his pocket as he picked up his bus tickets, he would be leaving in a bus from Seattle in a little over three hours.

When he finds Harry next he won't be the only war veteran amongst the two of them.

o0O0o

I admired the gleaming skyline and bustling streets of Hong Kong even as I was repulsed by the fumes and loud noises. I had, of course, lied in my letter, there was no simple magical way to insure that Seth and I would never again meet, so instead moving a few thousand miles away where English is only taught as a second language seemed a good idea.

I hadn't ever visited China before, so this should certainly be an interesting visit. As it was I was here for something specific, a challenge that I knew could easily keep me and my thoughts occupied for the coming months. I was here to acquire the _Lautitia Mens_. Then, even if I somehow managed to convince the Chinese to part with it for anything less than the entire contents of my vaults and indefinite indentured servitude, taking the ritual apart and learning from it would likely take another few months - at the very least.

o0O0o

Turns out, it only took me a month and a half of making requests and inroads into the Chinese government before I was able to get an appointment with a Sage - there was some Chinese name for them, but I didn't know nearly enough of the language for even a stilted conversation and sage was the closest translation that could be provided - apparently even so many years later and so many miles away from the epicenter, my name still opened doors. Sages were the name given to the individuals who had performed the _Lautitia Mens_ and were therefore the only ones with the authority to sell it, trade it, or authorize its use.

The one I was to meet with was apparently very high up in the government, though few ever actually met him in person as he preferred to run things from the background. Even with my name, however, I wasn't permitted into the room with him without having taken a few rather stringent magical oaths - strong enough that even I would take several hours of concentrated effort to dissolve them - that I wouldn't in any way try to harm or influence him, there was even one, much weaker oath, that I would tell no falsehoods while in the room. I had no intention of doing any of it, so taking the oaths wasn't overly onerous, though it did itch to have the oaths magic coiling tightly in the back of my brain.

I only had a wait of a few minutes before the Sage was striding into the room and taking a seat behind the desk opposite me. It shouldn't have surprised me - especially not in this day and age -but I suppose the title sage had thrown me, as his clean shaven and young appearance in a well fitting quality suit wasn't at all what I was expecting. He glanced at me as he sat behind his desk, barely seeming to spare me any thought, though I knew that wasn't the case. As a Sage he was likely capable of analyzing everything noticeable about me with that single glance - after all, a Sage's mind was more powerful than a dozen supercomputers, at least, that's what I had heard. "I have been informed, Mr. Potter, that you would like to acquire the lautitia mens. I hope you realize what an honor it is for us to even consider allowing you the opportunity to convince us we should allow you to have it." He said clearly, only a hint of an accent in his voice.

I nodded, the Lautitia Mens was after all technically a state secret, at least, its contents were, if not the fact it existed. "I do understand that, and therefore, I am prepared to offer an equally treasured bit of knowledge from my own arsenal." Now he was watching me with interest, he must have expected me to offer money, or oaths of some sort. I already knew, however, that I couldn't possibly have enough money to buy it and I wasn't willing to take any oaths that would stay with me the rest of my life.

"Tell me, Mr. Potter, to what use would you put the lautitia mens if you had it?" He asked, bland tone not disguising his curiosity.

"I would like to learn from it; to deconstruct it and see if I cannot modify it to my own uses. I have already performed a number of minor rituals that enhance my cognitive functions, but nothing on the scale of the Lautitia Mens." I said simply.

He raises an eyebrow, though I can't tell what he's thinking. "Am I right in interpreting that to mean that you would not share the lautitia and are not willing to give up your ability to actively use magic to perform it?"

I couldn't help the feeling of discomfort at considering the idea of investing all of my power into any one ritual to such an extent that I could no longer cast spells. "You are correct, I am unwilling to perform the ritual as it is, however, if I could determine just how it augments the mind I might be able to find a different method to get some if not all the affects without such drawbacks."

The Sage considers me for a moment, and now I'm almost certain it's amusement in his expression. "Very well, I would be willing to trade you the lautitia mens for any and all materials of or related to your mother's research into the unforgivables and blocking them - it is rumored that you were able to recover the majority of her research from your vaults. Also I will request you make an oath to the effect that you shall never knowingly allow anyone else access to the lautitia mens." I nod hesitantly, I hadn't realized anyone had known about that, but goblins would sell just about anything for the right price. The research itself while interesting wasn't very useful, my mother, like everyone else who had tried hadn't found the exact method the unforgivables used to shift out of this dimension so even though she did find _a_ method to project a shield into the same dimension it was much, much less efficient - so much less efficient that it required so much emotion and magic that a willing sacrifice was the only way to get a useful result from the magic; which is precisely what she had done to save me so many years ago. The oath, however, I was less comfortable with - short term ones like those I had taken to be allowed into this meeting were one thing, long term oaths were another entirely.

"I can have all the relevant documents delivered by business closing tonight. I would, however, be more comfortable with a contract rather than an oath, if that is not disagreeable." Contracts while very similar to oaths, did not have any active magic and were usually far less lethal in their results if broken. The only down side to using a contract would be that it wouldn't warn me if I was about to break it like an oath would; my mastery of Occlumency, however, meant that I hardly needed the oaths warnings when my own mind can supply them just as easily.

He considered my request for a long moment before nodding. "If you return at seven tonight with your mother's research, both the contract and the lautitia will be available for you then."

He stands to lead me out and I quickly follow. "I can't help but wonder what you found so amusing." I ask as I reach the door.

He smiles and there is absolutely no way to miss the amusement present in his expression now. "The Lautitia mens is not a single ritual that was designed thousands of years ago, but an evolution of rituals over the years, constantly being improved and modified by those already under its influence - the idea that you can modify it let alone comprehend it without needing the improvements it gives is what is so amusing." He says jovially as he shuts the door in my face.

I grimace at his dismissive attitude - well, here's to hoping he's wrong about that.

o0O0o

When I arrive back at the office to collect exchange my mother's research with all of my own additions and note for the Lautitia Mens, I am also given a letter. Apparently the Chinese government has access to a new mathematical model for portkeys and know I'm an expert in transportation magic - the letter is actually a job offer.

I am highly tempted to dismiss it completely, but the sage must have gotten my number, because the curiosity is already eating at me to get a look at those equations.

o0O0o

The Lautitia turned out to be just as complex as the sage had hinted, perhaps even more so. Though I wouldn't allow that to stop me; so I continued to pick it apart piece by piece, trying to eke out every bit of understanding I could from the ritual. Thus far all I had managed to conclude is that part of the ritual functioned rather similarly to how the Ancient Egyptian tombs did - in essence the magic that went into all the enchantments around those tombs were based upon the understanding that there was an all powerful god that was the source of those enchantments - normally such an enchantment by itself would be rather weak as it is such a vast departure from how the universe truly functions, but when hundreds, if not thousands, of these enchantments were layered over the tombs they began to build upon and support each other. In the end one of the reason the Egyptian tombs were so dangerous and difficult to open, was because all magic _not _based upon that principle - not drawing power from that god - is severely weakened within its walls. In a way, while within those magically saturated walls, there truly is a single nearly all powerful source of magic that wishes to protect the tomb.

Like the Egyptian tombs the Lautitia warps reality so that within the walls of an individual's skull, their intellect is unlimited. It's a fascinating idea that completely side-steps the issue of maintaining the balance of the conscious and unconscious mind so as not to damage the mind or result in the individual's insanity. Also much like the tombs, the relationship between the magic invested and the results returned isn't linear, but exponential - meaning someone twice as magically powerful could see results as much as ten times superior - which explains why the myriad different individuals who undergo the Lautitia are all willing to invest every last scrap of magic they have in the ritual.

That was the most power draining portion of the ritual, however, there were dozens of other little tweaks to the brains normal functioning that I could barely make heads or tails out of, that somehow managed to function interdependently in such a manner that they could very well be potentially lethal if not used together as per the ritual's design.

In the end I put the Lautitia on the back burner, intending it to be a project I could come back to in my spare time or whenever inspiration hit. In the short term I had decided to take the Chinese up on their job offer, if for no other reason than access to new the spatial models. Apparently the portkey modification wasn't the only new bit of science to be had - they must have finally found a sage that was more interested in magic than politics and bureaucracy to have all this new material available.

o0O0o

June, 2012

We aren't alone in the galaxy. This is now known fact, not speculation.

I can't say that I'm surprised, not by that at least, but how I found out - that did surprise me.

Maybe I've become too full of myself, but I'm more surprised that I wasn't somehow on the frontline than I am that it happened at all. It turns out that all the interesting new formulae that I've been analyzing and adapting for the past few years isn't from some Sage tucked away in a basement, but from the mundane Chinese government, which got it from their cooperative efforts with the other nations in the world to explore the galaxy through a device called the stargate.

The Stargate is an artifact that was left by an advanced alien species that once colonized Earth and much of the rest of the Milky Way galaxy millions of years ago - a device capable of facilitating near instantaneous transport to anywhere in the universe another of its kind resided.

The story of the device's discovery and use was truly an incredible tale, one that spanned from early twentieth century when it was first unburied in Giza, Egypt, to nineteen-ninety-seven when they first deliberately sent a team through the gate and into the galaxy at large.

Of course that first journey to another world, Abydos - a relatively close by desert planet, was just the beginning.

My job for the Chinese had few restrictions, for the most part I would stop by once a month or so and pick up anything new they had for my analysis, while dropping off whatever I have compiled or derived from what they've given me. In the times I'm not in the office exchanging information, I continue to travel around the world, continuing to learn from other sources. The job hardly interrupts my life at all, which is a rather large bonus that has kept me working for them all this time. I had learned early on that the company had an office on the mundane side of the divide for contract work for easy money and should anything they have prove interesting.

What I hadn't known was that that was where these new equations and models had been coming from. The company I had been working for had been contracted to help analyze the new sciences that the stargate had made available to the governments of the world.

Soon there would be a press conference, held by leaders, both religious and political, all around the world. There wouldn't be a television that didn't have access to it being played on dozens of different stations and in a dozen different languages, not a radio that wouldn't be able to tune in to it, and if somehow you missed it on one of those there would be active sites where the conference was streamed live and an interactive database open to all the public with all the basic information anyone could want.

On this upcoming day the truth of the Stargate and the galaxy at large would be revealed to the world. In preparation for this each government had taken the opportunity to make as many officials and individuals as was possible aware beforehand. Each would be under a strict confidentiality agreement, but it was there hope that there would be a large enough number of people already aware of the situation so that when the governments fully disclosed the details to the public there would be plenty of people who wouldn't be surprised or upset by the revelation.

I had sat there just as stupefied as all the others in the office when I first heard the news, struggling to come to terms with the facts revealed. When I finally had, several hours later, it was time to ponder something else perhaps much more important.

What would I do?

I could do nothing, go with the flow as I had been for the past years, and see where the revelation would take humanity.

Or I could get involved.

Do something that will matter in a thousand years and I'm old and tired of life, something I could look back on and be proud of so that I could leave the world - the Universe with my mark on it.

I'd been listless since the war. Certainly I kept busy with my research, study, and discoveries, but they were always just distractions. Things to set my mind to so that it might not be idle. However, this was an opportunity to truly expand and focus all my efforts and considerable skills. To reach out to the boundless stars and not fall short.

It had been one of my more poetic moments that lasted up until the instant I realized I was just one of millions wizards, witches, and other magical creatures who would very soon be learning that the mundane individuals of the world had been representing Earth and getting into wars, in which the safety of every individual on Earth was risked, for almost two decades. While the Chinese government may not have realized it they had just disclosed the secret of the Stargate to a magical company, it wouldn't be long before the Chinese magical government knew. Then the entire situation could a rather steep dive into serious and dangerous territory. If the magical citizens of the world lashed out because of this it could very well mean war, a war that for the first time ever mundanes might not be at a disadvantage.

o0O0o

**A/N Ok so that's the new chapter 14, and yes it's a chapter not part two... I gave up on that idea. Next chapter will involve a conversation with the president, but it won't be Obama; Firstly, I have no idea how to write him and secondly I realized that I really don't want to be bringing any sort of real life, possibly controversial, politics into this story.**

**Anyways I'm still rewriting the next chapter, one of the reasons this has taken me so long is as I'm rewriting these chapters I'm having to rethink the next half dozen chapters I have planned. So please be patient and give me some feedback - positive or negative I can learn from both.**


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**I have deliberately changed a couple dates so that the Alterans returned to Earth after the Goa'uld had already left: the Goa'uld were driven from earth about eight thousand B.C. and the Alterans came back around three thousand B.C. - they used the Antarctic gate for everyone who wants to point out that the other was buried.**

o0O0o

It turns out that I'm in a rather unique position - As the Chinese magical government found out about the Stargate first they're in the best position to get the best concessions and to act as an initial go-between for the mundane and magical governments. That being said, they have to make sure they don't alienate either, otherwise they could lose that advantageous position - and that's where I come in, I've worked closely with the Chinese magical government long enough and well enough that they trust me to represent their interests and my own rather inflated legend will go quite a ways to appeasing any and all other magical governments.

So it was perhaps inevitable that they came to me to initiate talks between the magical and mundane government - the only problem is figuring out precisely who to approach first.

Eventually it was decided that we should approach the Americans directly instead of working through the oversight committee they had formed with the other mundane governments of the world so as to circumvent the issue of magical disclosure as much as possible this early on - we were uncertain how many of the officials working for the IOA (International Oversight Advisory) were aware of magical beings on Earth. Working together the Chinese and I had managed to determine that the stargate was being operated out of an American base in Cheyenne Mt. Colorado within eight hours of the revelation. From there it had been a simple three day endeavor to have over a dozen different low level base personnel collected during the night and questioned thoroughly with legilimency; they would wake up the next morning abnormally tired, but otherwise unharmed and completely oblivious to their abductions. Already the Chinese had a near full accounting of everything that had occurred throughout the running of the nearly sixteen year old program. There may be holes in what we knew, but they were small enough that we were confident enough in our assessment of the situation to proceed.

After the information had been compiled and briefly analyzed the President of the U.S. received a polite but firmly worded demand to clear several hours of his schedule sometime within the next seven days time.

o0O0o

"Good evening, Mr. President." I spoke as I was shown into his office.

Henry Hayes, President of the United States of America and currently serving in his second term in office, stood from behind his desk and made to welcome his guest. "I'd like to return the sentiment, however, I haven't a clue as to who or why you're here and I wouldn't want to speak too soon." He said jovially, though not entirely jokingly.

"Oh, there's no reason this meeting can't prove to be beneficial for both our people, Mr. President. I hope you don't mind, but I've taken the liberty of sealing the room from both magical and mundane forms of surveillance - any cameras will record us having a rather friendly chat about the possibilities of green energy in the countries future." I said as I settled myself on the sofa comfortably, requesting with a gesture for the president to join me. Hayes seemed slightly taken aback by my messing with the security systems, but took a seat across from me anyway. "As for myself, my name is Harry Potter. That's neither here nor there, however, as it is my political connection in the magical world, not the mundane, that has me here instead of someone else. I doubt you've heard much of anything about me as I was before your time in office." I say, ignoring the way he eyes my young appearance doubtfully. "What is important, is the Stargate and the fact that you and the other mundane governments of the world felt free to represent and endanger the world to the universe without the backing or approval of the magical governments."

Hayes stiffened in his seat as he finally realized the purpose of this visit. "To put it bluntly, in the past several days since the Magical government of China discovered the existence of the stargate, we have already managed to unearth just about every detail of the program. If that isn't a demonstration of just how greatly you've blundered by dismissing us, then I don't know what is.

"Now I could have come here with accusations and demand answers as to why we weren't involved from day one, but honestly it probably won't get us very far. I was once mundane raised so I am aware of just how primitive a magical community appears at first glance, however, it is only on the surface that our communities seem less advanced than the mundane. That is hardly the case though, we don't use cars and airplanes because we have apparition and portkeys, we don't use electricity because with a couple simple charms we can have a heatless, everlasting flame, we don't use guns and missiles because with a simple ward or spell we can render kinetic energy void." I spoke with a passion for the magic I loved that took even me by surprise, perhaps not _all_ of the wonder had left me yet.

Hayes scrutinized me closely and I could feel his shifting thoughts, the only wizard he'd ever had direct contact with before me had been his magical counterpart and he'd clearly been a politician through and through, not much like myself. Finally he seemed to gather himself and his thoughts. "I do not expect you to fully understand or be happy with it, however, the magicals of Earth represent less than a tenth of a percent of the population, neither I nor my counterparts around the world can hardly be expected to go out of our ways to make decisions of policy based upon the say so of a few isolated and -" Hayes searched for an inoffensive term before finally settling on, "unindustrialized individuals."

I couldn't prevent a raised eyebrow in unspoken display of disdain. "With all of the incredible revelations about human history that travel through the Stargate has provided, surely someone has put two and two together and realized that the wizards and witches of Earth are descendants of the Alterans - the single most advanced species, both technologically and biologically, you have thus far become aware of in your travels, and the species that may be responsible for the seeding of human life in this and other galaxies. With wizard's abilities and history - namely the fact that the modern wizarding world was founded by Merlin, an individual you now know to be a member of the Alteran race, the fact that you are aware that a number of Alterans that took refuge on Earth some five thousand years ago when they returned defeated from the Pegasus galaxy, and finally the fact that many Alterans were known to show superhuman abilities due to their advanced evolution even before they ascended and left their physical limitations behind - even I was able to come to that conclusion in the past several days alone."

Hayes frowned slightly, annoyed at my condescending tone, "Of course we realized the connection, but just because you and your people are descended from the Alterans doesn't change the fact that you're just a technologically regressed remnant of a once mighty people."

My other eyebrow rose to join its counterpart. "Didn't I just address this, that magical beings appear primitive only on the surface? Did you know that it is a rather common problem in the last decade or so for first generation magicals to not want to join the wizarding world, because at first glance it looks less advanced? The key words _again_ are 'at first glance'. It's been what eleven years now since Earth produced its first hyperspace capable vessel, hasn't it? And yet wizards have been traveling through hyperspace every time they use a portkey for thousands of years and we hardly need literal tons of equipment and shielding to make it safe. You're just now learning to manipulate gravitons to use in your artificial gravity generators aboard your starships, and yet the levitation spell is one of the first spells a wizard learns. We appear to be stuck in the middle ages at first glance, because with magic we don't need to change anything to make our lives any easier and because it is illegal in wizarding society to mess with technology."

Hayes blinked, confused, "I thought technology didn't work around magic?" He asked.

I smiled. "If you're careless with magic it's easy to accidently induce charges and conditions that will easily destroy any sort of delicate electronics, however, there are dozens of easy ways to make it safe. No, this is something that confused me for quite a bit these past few days while I pondered it; According to the Merlin Accords a wizard should not 'seek to bring together contraption and magick.'" Harry said, quoting one of the oldest wizarding laws in existence. "I couldn't figure out why an individual such as Merlin, who used and invented technology so much more advanced, wouldn't want us to mix the two. The answer I found lays in how other more advanced species view 'the Unenlightened.' All the advanced races you've come across in the past that aren't hostile have been hesitant to provide humanity with advanced technology because it would be like giving a gun to a child, too much responsibility and danger to those who couldn't possibly understand all the ramifications of it. However, we wizards are essentially born with the legacy and power of the Alterans, it cannot be withheld from us without fundamentally altering us, something I imagine they did not want to do to their own descendents and last remaining living legacy. So we were left with incredible power, but not the history and experience to wield it responsibly by their thinking." I turned my attention away from the president to gaze out of the window for a moment gathering my own thoughts. "You see any wizard could transmute a couple pounds of Uranium and rig up a nuclear bomb in their backyard with a couple weeks effort and perhaps twenty dollars of supplies, however, that would require that the wizard in question break one of our most ancient laws, set down by all those years ago by Merlin. I imagine that Merlin expects us to one day discard that law, but not until we are experienced and wise enough to understand why it was there in the first place and wield the power responsibly. As it is the law has caused more trouble than I think Merlin meant it to, because wizards interpreted it to mean that technology was the antithesis to magic and that we should not use it at all. When mundanes refused to stop inventing and experimenting with 'contraptions,' it created anti-mundane sentiments that have grown so strong in the past couple centuries with the industrial revolution you all experienced. Normally wizarding society is, for the most part, peaceful, however, in the past century alone we have experienced two wars over the issue of whether wizards should step in and stop such blasphemy from being committed or not - Voldemort himself was merely a psychopath who loved killing, however, he lured supporters to his cause with promises of stopping mundanes from poisoning our society with their uncivilized devices and culture.

"Something else you may not know, but the majority of your most celebrated minds of history were wizards or squibs and merely sharing with the mundane world what was already common knowledge in the wizarding world; Albert Einstein himself was a squib who sought fame in the mundane world when no one would buy his hair care products. In fact, the only notable name you might be familiar with, that wasn't in any way connected to the wizarding world, as far as I'm aware, was Leonardo da Vinci - he was truly, naturally brilliant, and I can't help but wonder what he might have created had he been a wizard."

I sighed again glancing at my watch. "That isn't the point though, the point is that wizards don't use technology not because we can't, but because if we did then we would have no limits. I will put this bluntly, if it came down to a war between magical and non-magical, even with all the new advanced technology you've gotten in the past couple decades with use of the stargate and even if you somehow got word out about wizards to every single person in the world before the conflict started - even then, you would have no hope of victory. Oh, it's possible wizards might not win, but it would be incredibly easy for even an average wizard to make Earth uninhabitable. Wizards, whether they make up less than a thousandth the population or not, are not to be trifled with or ignored."

I sat back, slumping into the cushions and sighed, this really wasn't going the way I had planned it. "There I go all doom and gloom again." I shook my head, attempting to dispel such thoughts and straightened up again. "I am in a rather unique position in that I posses a rather large quantity of political capital in the wizarding world and have been working closely with the Chinese government in recent years. With the Chinese backing and my own inflated legend it may very well be possible to smooth over any ruffled feathers amongst the magical populations, and in a few years or decades time, depending on how things turn out, perhaps help guide the wizarding world out of isolation and reintroduce the remnants of the Alteran people to the world and universe at large."

I held up a hand to stall the President's comments, trying to get through my piece without going off on anymore tangents. "While we are perfectly willing to work this out, it will have to come with some compromises on your part: You will make certain that from now on should any magical government or species wish to be involved in the stargate program and policies, that they be given equal opportunity to do so. You will also make certain that that includes positions for magical beings on the frontline should they wish it - honestly, I have no idea why you haven't before, vampires for all their fearsome reputations can easily enough survive on donated blood and are physically and mentally superior to a human in almost every way, heck, they don't even need sleep, and that's just one magical species. Really you've given up what to me seems to me to be Earth's greatest resource and advantage when it comes to expansion into the galaxy's frontiers, by ignoring the unique beings and potent abilities that lay untapped within the magical world. Along those lines I freely admit that part of the reason I willingly chose to get involved in all this, is that I desire to be among those on the front lines - I am neither the most magically powerful wizard in the world, nor the most knowledgeable; I am, however, near enough the top of those two categories and I can claim, without a shadow of a doubt, that I am currently the most dangerous wizard in this world - and I am just as willing to fight for my home world as all of the other soldiers and scientists you've employed in the past decade and a half." I said, finishing my hopefully convincing presentation and argument - though the distinct feeling of annoyance along with his other feelings I got from the President told me that I hadn't suddenly become any more skilled at avoiding offense.

Hayes sat forward interlacing his fingers beneath his chin. "Very well, Mr. Potter, you've said your part, and I can't help but feel that if what you say is true, then we have indeed done you and ourselves a disservice by not including you. That being said there is no simple or easy way to go about achieving what you propose; not only are you suggesting the revelation of the presence of magical beings to tens of thousands of people in every country, but also the revelation of the stargate program and the nature of the universe to an equally numerous magical populous. Neither of those can come about without careful planning and execution, certainly not anything that can be hammered out and decided upon in the few short hours we have today between only the two of us.

"Therefore I am willing to suggest that we both work together to bring an advisory board of the magical and mundane officials of every nation that need to be made aware of these changes in circumstance, so that we might all cooperate to see things move as smoothly as possible." Hayes said placatingly.

I smiled, he definitely thought of me as a child, his nearly patronizing tone said it all. "Excellent, I expect that you won't have any trouble contacting the appropriate parties; and just to light the fire under you I'll explain a little of what I believe I and the wizarding world may be able to offer the Stargate program and why I wish to be involved." I said, fully intending to wipe away any doubts he may have remaining. "Firstly magic by its very nature is something that twists reality; while magic is happening that little bit of space it is happening in is no longer constrained by the laws of physics. I am aware that you originally had trouble producing a stable power source out of naquadria - with magic a relatively simple set of runic arrays could have created a stable peak that wasn't there naturally. That may not be as much an issue now that you possess the Asgard's legacy, it is just one example of how a combination of magic and technology can be vastly superior to just one or the other. And yes, I am suggesting that the Merlin Accords be discarded, Earth has a military and civilian presence in three galaxies and conflict is still ongoing in one against the remnants of the Wraith. That and our own galaxy is still incredibly unstable after only a decade of freedom from the Goa'uld who enslaved it for millennia and war with the Ori." Harry paused to gauge the Presidents expression, taking it as a good sign that he was listening attentively.

"That is just a fraction of what magic might be able to bring to the table. I on the other hand - " I sighed, this was a bit of a departure from my intended rhetoric, but if it got the job done. "I am a relic of war. A weapon who was used and is now useless - don't pity me, I knew what I was being made into, I knew why, and I agreed with the cause. That being said I am no longer fully human - wizard, whatever it is that I and the other descendants of the Alterans are that is. I was forced to give up that which made me a whole individual and now I am left without a cause to fight for. I am not proud to admit this, but I thrive on the challenge of conflict - I thrive on the challenge of making magic for war." I had looked away sometime during this soliloquy, unable to continue watching his expression and thoughts play just behind his eyes even without the aid of legilimency. "Helping Earth, helping humanity and all the other races and peoples of the Universe find peace and stability - that is something I can dedicate myself to. That is something I will dedicate myself to." I finished looking him hard in the eyes, willing him to understand how much I needed this.

o0O0o

**I've always liked Leonardo da Vinci. Guess he's sorta my hero - granted All I really know about him is he invented a parachute and drew a picture of a naked guy with an extra pair of arms and legs... Kinda pathetic of me, I know, but I've never been the sort to look up to or want to emulate others.**

**Also I've never liked the word muggle, not necessarily because it is derogatory, but because it's just plain immature, and unsophisticated - just like I've never liked all the made up names like dumbledork and moldyshorts... In my mind respect is incredibly important to have and maintain even when dealing with individuals you dislike, thus the Harry of this story shares that belief. **

**"To disrespect your enemy, is to disrespect yourself. For surely if your enemy was not an individual worthy of respect, you would crush them without opposition." ~ M.G.T.**

**Oh yeah, The I switched to Hayes, 'cus it just makes everything simpler. Also this is his second term in office, so there'll be a new president in the story soon... I've been inspired to possibly toy with the idea of it being Eddy Morra - tell me what you think of the idea (Eddy Morra is main character of the movie Limitless).**

**o0O0o**

**Please Review and tell me what you think of the story!**


	17. Interlude

Interlude

Seth sat in his jeep for a long moment after the door to Jessica's apartment closed behind her. It had been a long six years since he'd decided to leave the reservation and join the marines. Though his registration papers and enlistment records had him down as a twenty-three year old, he wouldn't actually be turning twenty-one for a few more weeks. The physical enhancements brought on by his wolf status had made it a more than believable age for anyone who might have thought to question it, so he hadn't run into any problems there. General Roedenback, the vampire the Cullens had known, had smoothed things out for him and gotten him into the program with little hassle. Still he'd only been a marine for a few weeks before someone took notice of him and he had been transferred over to a Navy Seals training camp. He'd been reassured by Roedenback that it wouldn't change anything and no one would look too closely at his biology or bloodwork. So he'd become a Navy Seal.

Wolves weren't really water creatures, but then neither were humans and the training had actually been a bit of a challenge and just the thing he'd needed at the time. In the years since he'd been to numerous places around the world, working alone and in teams as the occasion and mission called for, he'd been given half a dozen different commendations and promoted to an ensign. He'd achieved a lot, and was rightly proud of his accomplishments, but that didn't change the fact that he still missed Him some times. The draw to find Him and work things out somehow had never really left or changed; He'd been wrong about that, there hadn't ever been anyone else out there for him. After all the people he had met in all this different cities and places in the world, never so much as getting a twitch out of his wolf's instincts Seth was rather convinced that he'd screwed up his one and only chance to be with his imprinted. It had been almost three years now since he had transformed and while the need to find Him never left, it had faded with time. Hence Jessica.

He didn't love her, and she didn't really love him, but he'd stopped her from being raped in the barrack once and since then she'd stuck close. He got the feeling that she hadn't had the most enjoyable home life and that there had been times he hadn't been in the right barracks at the right times, but she was a fighter. Just a bit of a beaten and battered one.

Still things were going pretty smoothly between them, they weren't terribly intimate, he didn't want to push - and honestly not as interested as he pretended -and she still didn't seem to be ready for that kind of relationship, but besides that things looked promising. Maybe someday he'd marry her and introduce her to his mother, and maybe a decade down the line he'd give his mother some grandchildren - he knew one of the reasons she'd been so distraught when he'd imprinted was the end of the Clearwater name.

Still as he started up the jeep to leave, he thought things were moving along just fine. He'd been a naive idiot when he was younger, somehow thinking that going off to fight and kill people would suddenly solve all his problems and he'd somehow stumble across Him and they'd fall into each other's arms someday. He had more realistic expectations of the future now, and even if the fighting hadn't been what he'd imagined it to be, it had matured him and he could say confidently he was a more stable, well rounded individual for the experience. An experience that was soon to end, as he was due to be relegated to the reserve in a few weeks and was considering a local college for his degree - he still hadn't settled on a single course of study, so he kept his plans flexible.

Just as he was pulling his jeep away from the curb and about to make his way back to the main hustle and bustle of Newport, his cell phone rang loudly over the rumble of the engine. It took a moment of shifting about to liberate the device from his pocket and hold it up near the steering wheel to see the number that was calling, the moment he did he was quick to answer the phone. "Sir." He greeted the man on the other end of the phone.

"Ensign Clearwater. I have an opportunity for you, it will mean an extension of your service and a move half way across the country, but in return you'll get a not insignificant promotion and pay raise. Are you interested?"

Seth allowed the jeep to roll to a stop, the street was empty and it was dark enough out that he'd see anyone's car lights long before they got close so he wasn't concerned. Glancing in his rearview mirror, Seth's gaze settled on Jessica's apartment. She'd already left the service and was applying to the local college herself. Saying yes would mean giving up on his plans, and probably Jessica entirely.

But she was a fighter. And college could wait.

"Yes sir, General Roedenback, I'm interested, sir." He said as he started the jeep moving again and focused his attention forward.

**A/n Ok, it's been forever. I wrote chapter sixteen half a dozen times, sometimes from Sam's point of View sometimes from Hayes', sometimes from jacks or harry's or anyone else really, and could never get something I liked. I'd make it a couple thousand words in and then stall. But last night it occurred to me to write something entirely different from Seth's point of view. So here's this little interlude, and I'm hoping this will help me get back into the swing of writing this story.**

**Please Review! I need the motivation! (unless you want the possibility of another year and a half to go between updates!) - I have been writing a lot more recently (though mostly other things, so if I can just turn my attention back to this story I should be able to get out a chapter or more a month of reasonable length).**

**Thanks. And Please Review!**


	18. Chapter Sixteen

o0O0o

Samantha Carter leaned back from the console she'd been working at for the last several hours. Reaching back to rub her neck she felt the hard nub of her nano-colony just beneath her skin. Despite the fact that she had helped in the design and implementation of the devices, she would never be comfortable with them or their use. They were relatively simple nannites, nothing as complex as was available in the Asgard core, but that meant that it was possible to ensure that they couldn't be easily hijacked remotely or for any other purpose than was their design. That purpose being to monitor and maintain safe levels of NZT in the blood, synthesizing more whenever it dropped below a certain level or in the case of an emergency signal being given, would produce a counteragent.

As much as Sam disliked having nannites anywhere near her body after all her rather horrible experiences with the technology in the past, she was equally unhappy about the NZT itself. She prided herself on her intelligence and her ability to quickly work out the basic functioning principles of any technology they had come across in the past, that didn't change the fact that the Agard were considered technologically advanced enough to be allies with the Alterans five million years ago and their biology was simply more robust when it came to their cognitive function - without the NZT boosting hers and all the other engineers and scientists own performances they would never have made even a tenth of the progress in understanding the data and knowledge stored in the Asgard core. Not to say they had actually made much progress; estimates placed full analysis and comprehension of the Core's contents as some ten thousand years down the line, and that was only if Earth achieved post scarcity sometime in the next century.

The NZT itself had actually been a creation of the Trust, and that had biased a lot of people against using it, especially when an especially addictive strain NZT-48 somehow made it out into the public market, however, it was just too useful not to put into use. The strain she was using didn't actually make someone all that much smarter, it merely affecting the memory sections of the brain to prompt near eidetic recall in everyone and encouraged neuronal flexibility - the capacity for new connections to be formed. Still with just that the average scientist had seen a near five-hundred percent increase in performance and studies had shown even slight increased combat performance in soldiers.

The fact that even the basic science in the Asgard core had been so far beyond human comprehension and the sheer quantity of information stored in it, had meant that the NZT had become a must have for everyone in the Stargate program. Instead of trying to understand and improve on Asgard designs, most of the engineers had simply taken to skimming through the databanks for devices already existing to fill whatever purpose they had, on occasion a creative combination of one or more Asgard technologies could yield promising new applications. Even so Sam couldn't help but feel a lot of the excitement, adventure, and challenge in science had been lost to her and likely would be for many generations to follow as everyone merely struggled to catch up to where the Asgard had been before their extinction. She dreaded the day when the brightest minds of humanity failed to produce anything because they just weren't smart enough to improve any aspect of their science or life.

Perhaps that was why neither she nor any of the other scientists really liked working with the new wizarding department. There had been a push to call them the Alteran department or the Descendent department instead of such an immature and frankly ignorant seeming appellation. However, when such was suggested to the wizards they had been more than slightly offended; their argument had been that just because the mundane population had twisted the name of their people into fairy tale figures didn't change the fact that they were wizards and had been so for thousands of years. It was a fair argument and she admitted that she hadn't seen it from that perspective prior, but it didn't stop her from feeling foolish every time she referred to them as wizards.

The wizards had just sort of shown up, one day things were business as usual in the program and the next orders had come down from the president and nearly every other head of state with a place in the IOA (International Oversight Administration) that a new department was opening to facilitate the integration of magical beings. The news that there were living descendants of Alterans on Earth and they not only seemed capable of supernatural feats, but more capable than the Alterans had been was a severe shock to almost everyone on base. In fact, there were still people having trouble believing that 'magic' and magical creatures existed and it had been weeks.

It turned out that the new department had been set up by demand of the wizarding communities around the world when they'd stumbled across the secret of the Stargate what with all the preparations being made for Disclosure. All of this would have been fine, Sam thought, if it weren't for the wizards themselves.

Only a small contingent of seven wizards had actually started working with them at the base as of yet, though that was due to change soon with the arrival of soldiers of supernatural origin or ability and a larger research staff of wizards. Still those seven wizards managed to get on almost everyone's bad side quickly. Most particularly the wizard that was in command, he was incredibly arrogant and dismissive of not only the Stargate program's personnel but also all their past accomplishments, which considering it included the toppling of a galaxy spanning civilization of megalomaniac parasitic aliens who enslaved billions if not trillions of humans over their rule of thousands of years, being recognized as the fifth race of an alliance of technological titans that had lasted for millions of years, and conducting military operations in three galaxies, his ability to dismiss it all was rather incredible. Perhaps the bitterest pill for her to swallow was the fact that they didn't even touch the NZT and had been quickly outstripping most of her staff in understanding and capability. Their jackass commander had barely glanced at a white board covered in notation for energy optimization in the subspace envelope of an active hyperdrive before he'd changed half a dozen variables and improved the model by an order of magnitude. There was no denying that the wizards were descendents of superior genetics, and it was a slap in the face to have so many hard fought for accomplishments seemingly diminished by it.

At least not all the wizards were so difficult to be around, one of the foreign ones seemed to be able to make friends with anyone on base - which given the undertone of arrogance that had been present in almost every advanced race they'd ever come across was a bit of a relief.

In the end it came down to one simple fact. Colonel Samantha Carter refused to ever allow herself to become superfluous; her days of inventing and engineering were not behind her and she would continue to help pioneer humanity's way into the greater galaxy.

_Now if only this model for keyron induction would resolve into something comprehensible. _She thought as she stretched the last of the cramps and aches out of her back and shifted forward to work at her console again.

o0O0o

Seth leaned forward in from his seat in the humvee to shake the hand of another soldier that had just gotten into the front passenger seat, "Lieutenant Clearwater, I take it you got the same offer as the rest of us?" Seth said in introduction. He could tell from the feel of the man's cold hand and the sickly sweet smell he could still detect, even with his senses dampened from so long not transforming, that the man was a vampire.

"If the offer was for an interesting assignment designed specifically for we of _special designation_ with no other information provided, then I dare say I did." The vampire said in a friendly enough fashion. "The name, this decade, is Simon Audrey, First Lieutenant, Airforce."

"That sounds about right," Said a rather rough looking man with a gruff voice, he'd introduced himself earlier as Corporal Fenman and was an actual werewolf, not the shapeshifting sort that Seth was. "Apparently there's some new joint effort project in the works between us and the mundanes. Set a new precedent, I heard."

"Well let's hope it works, I love my new promotion, and I certainly don't want to lose it!" Piped up an excitable looking woman, Seth wasn't sure what she was, not a vampire, were, or shapeshifter he didn't think.

The conversation between the four of them flowed pretty easily as the Humvee continued on its course, the driver paying none of them any mind, and in fact had ignored every effort of interrogation about the nature of the assignment. They discussed what they had been doing prior to the assignment, though there was more than one person who couldn't comment due to the nature of their previous work - everyone understood. Seth learned that the excitable woman - one Myrabell Sysina - was a petty officer in the marine corps who'd been working in one the missile boats that held nuclear ordnance, and had already had a pretty high level of clearance before all the checks that they had all had to go through as vetting for the new assignment. The werewolf was an army ranger and was more than pleased to admit he had tallied his kills in the hundreds - a rather disturbing bit of shared information, but the werewolf's aggressive and more animalistic nature had already equipped him with a psyche that wasn't concerned by killing ones enemies. The vampire, Simon Audrey, had explained that the fact that he had a kill count that high and was still trusted for the assignment spoke very highly of his discipline and lethality - as he would certainly never have been permitted if those weren't authorized kills in the first place.

Still when the Humvee finally pulled up to a checkpoint outside of the Cheyenne mountain complex where they were due to get their briefing, Seth was more than slightly wary of the other occupants of the vehicle and had every intention of staying on their good sides.

Checking in and getting passed through security took nearly an hour as there were seemingly dozens of checkpoints and chokepoints built into the design of the complex and each checkpoint seemed to have a different procedure. So it was quite a relief to be passing through the last checkpoint at their stop on sublevel twenty-seven, it being just outside of the second elevator they'd had to take, and shown into the briefing room itself. The room was relatively small, but given there were only four of them it was plenty large enough for its purpose. Against one wall was a glass window that had a blast shield lowered on the other side so all that was visible was a uniform grey metal.

The briefing that followed was like nothing any of them had expected. Major Davis, a liaison with the pentagon had arrived specifically to give them their introduction into the wider galaxy. A wider galaxy that humans had been exploring for more than a decade through a device called the Stargate. At one point they had even raised the blast shield and they had gotten to see the actual device and a team passing through the shimmering blue portal. Their new assignment was to be dispersed and attached to four new SG operative teams to travel through the gate to unexplored worlds. Each team would be comprised of two veterans, familiar with the stargate and the sorts of things they might come across out in the rest of the galaxy, a new recruit from a standard branch of the armed forces, and one of them. Their performance would be reviewed and at the end of the month a committee in the IOA would decide whether or not to open the remainder of the SG teams to recruits of the more supernatural persuasion. They were warned about the goa'uld and the fact that they would be considered Hok'tars and sought after by the parasitic aliens if they knew of their superior physiology. To this point each would have to consent to an implant which would act as a denial system to any goa'uld attempting to gain their bodies as a host, the vampire was exempt as its skin would be far too tough for the parasites to pierce.

Half of what they were told in those hours seemed so incredibly amazing as to be the realm of fantasy and the other half was firmly housed in horror. Aliens that steal your body; Aliens that ate your life-force; Autonomous robot armies that spread like locust. It was all a bit much to believe, even with numerous videos and documents showing proof, not least of which was the device just one room over.

So when the briefing came to an end Seth was feeling more than just a little dizzy with his whirling thoughts. They were introduced to Colonel Samantha Carter, a name that had featured more than once in their briefing in conjunction with several others connected to the title SG-1, all of whom Major Davis seemed to hold more than small bit of awe for. After her introduction they met the General as he was passing through, one Hank Landry, the third general to run the program for any length of time since it had gone active in ninety-seven, he was a large, almost jovial man who none the less showed hints of an iron core.

Finally it seemed they there was only one more group they wanted to introduce them to, a contingent of seven witches and wizards sent by and representing the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) which was the actual party behind the recent change in policy and for their own inclusion in the program. Seth wasn't entirely sure what to think about the possibility of meeting more wizards. Ever since He'd left Seth hadn't once met a single one - he'd looked, but without the knowledge of where or how to look he'd never had any success in finding any. Now it seemed he would be meeting not just any random wizards either, but ones selected to represent their governments the world over; something told him it wouldn't be the right time to pester them about Him, or ask questions about any wizarding wars. Still he might have the opportunity another time.

Seth smiled in greeting, standing from his seat as well ready to shake hands and exchange pleasantries as the Wizards began filing in. All he had to do was get through these last few introductions and then he could escape to privacy to put his head back on straight after the day's revelations.

o0O0o

The meetings with this political advisor or that one, with bureaucrats and elected officials, with specialists and experts in both mundane and magical society had dragged on for what seemed like years to Harry. In truth it hadn't been even two months since his first meeting with the president of the United States, and a few weeks since he'd arrived at Cheyenne Mountain, but that meeting had been just the beginning.

There had been dozens of meetings just that week alone and harry had spent time in almost as many time zones to attend them and push the magical agenda. More than once he'd had to pull himself back from more outbursts like the one he'd had speaking to the president.

But he'd done it.

In the end they were allowing a number of wizarding experts to work with their scientists and engineers on site at their Cheyenne Mountain complex, while a larger more diverse group of specialists would be assigned a place in Area Fifty-one. It had been a bit of a tough sell, but Harry had managed to get himself placed in the seven wizard contingent that would be on-site, with luck he would be able to exploit or engineer a situation that would have him passing through the gate on a regular basis now that he was here!

The seven of them had been shuffled off to a group of four itty-bitty offices all adjacent in a corridor just about as far from the gate as you could get without leaving the security of the facility, and the contempt for them that it had shown had put them all in less than charitable moods. Still it hadn't taken too long to put space expansion charms on the lot - though the energy drain from maintaining them hadn't improved anyone's disposition. From there it had been a constant struggle to try and get involved to help, most of the scientists and engineers on the base did their level best to hoard their research and prevent them from getting access to it. In fact, the only one of them that wasn't having trouble with the mundanes being territorial was Pumeet Patil, a distant relation of the Patil twins Harry had attended Hogwarts with, and he was only having such good luck because he'd been taking a likeability potion which had a stronger affect on mundanes than wizards. Harry was almost tempted to do so himself, but figured it was best not to and had recommended the other wizards in the group not either; if it was discovered later it could do a lot to sour any relations they did manage to make.

Harry could only hope that things would settle a bit in the coming weeks and that soon they would be accepted as part of the program and not ostracized so badly, until then he could only do his best to keep the peace between them as best he could - how wanting to be in the group to go to the mountain had translated to him being in charge he wasn't entirely sure, but it was the only position they were willing to give him in the group so he'd taken it.

Fortunately things weren't too bad, he'd been able to help with what looked like a similar algorithm to the portkey model he'd originally been tempted with by the Chinese government all those years ago. Also things were bound to get better soon, as they were briefing the new group of magical soldiers today and you can't help but begin to like someone when you survive life threatening situations together. It was Harry's hope that the four soldiers that would be added to the SG teams would be able to act as the bridge and foundation for better relations in the future. Though he was more than a little jealous that they got to go through the gate when he hadn't been approved at all, being neither a part of nor accountable to their military.

All that was left for the day was for him to meet the new soldiers and, hopefully, make a good impression.

o0O0o

**A/N Again this was difficult to write, and instead of getting a reasonable length chapter form harry's perspective I'm getting little snippets from each perspective as events begin to come together.**

**Please review!**

**Edit 12/9/14: For those reading now, I've made a few small changes to this chapter and have about a thousand words of next chapter typed... However, it's coming up on finals week, then family vacation (which is always more stressful than it should be!) so I'll try to post next chapter sometime before Christmas.**


	19. Chapter Seventeen

Colonel Carter stepped forward to introduce Seth and the other new recruits to the wizard contingent as they filed into the room, they were a motley bunch, clearly hailing from all over the world and representing as wide a sampling of ethnicities in their number as was possible. Still despite that they all shared a poise that spoke of dignity, or arrogance if he wasn't feeling charitable. Their clothes were as diverse as themselves, but invariably the material was of quality and not something that could be found in any store Seth was familiar with.

Colonel Carter introduced the sixth and last man to step into the room before giving the wizarding contingent a questioning look, "Where's the last of you?" She asked; sounding to Seth just barely as if she cared about the answer.

"There was a call between your President and the British Ministers that he was asked to participate in." The friendliest looking of the bunch, an Indian wizard whose name Seth was already having trouble remembering, Pumeet, he thinks, said. "He told us he would be along the moment he could, but not to hold out hope that he would be free anytime soon and not to wait for him over long."

Colonel Carter was in the midst of a dismissive nod when a small yellow light placed on the wall near the ceiling came on. Her attention was immediately captured by the light and she paused, seeming to forget everyone else's presences for a moment. Seconds later when another small light right next to it came on, this time in red, she was instantly in motion, heading out of the room. Seth and the other soldiers were left behind, clueless as to what they should be doing.

Pumeet Patil, the friendly wizard, taking notice of their confusion was quick to step forward, "The lights indicate unscheduled incoming wormhole and an emergency or hostile contact respectively, the third unlit light beside them will light green when the situation is resolved. I'm told they used to have loud blaring alarms in the past, but since this has become more and more primarily a research base and less active now, they have adopted this method so as to prevent overly many interruptions to various ongoing projects in the base." He and the other wizards took the time to make themselves comfortable in the conference room and soon conversation drifted to other topics as the groups began to get to know one another.

o0O0o

Having his plans to speak with the contingent of new soldiers being brought into the program derailed by an inopportune call from Kingsley Shacklebolt and his contemporaries in the mundane governments of the UK and US, Harry was less than pleased when he finally set the phone back down on its cradle and saw that the call had taken almost a full hour. He'd now be nearly ten minutes late to the introduction; certainly not the impression he'd been hoping to make.

Still making his way through the corridors up to the briefing room where the introductions were to be held, he took the time to detour through the Gate Control room. He'd seen the warning lights come on while on the phone and anything that disturbed normal operating procedures could be the opportunity he'd been waiting for. That and he was just plain curious.

When he finally stepped into the control room it was to an atmosphere of high tension as everyone listened silently as a video played on one of the screen, clearly being broadcast from one of the MALPs through the open wormhole, currently hidden behind its protective iris.

"As you can see, Tau'ri, we have your men at our mercy. If our demands are not met within the remaining time your people will die." With his ultimatum delivered the man on the screen stepped away from the camera revealing behind him four bloodied, but otherwise unharmed airmen. Each had their hands tied behind their backs and a gun to their heads as they were forced to kneel before the camera.

There was a moment of heavy silence that followed while everyone took in what they'd heard, Harry included. Then General Landry was barking orders and room was motion and chaos again. It took a few moments for Harry to catch someone's eyes and glean what he'd missed due to his late arrival. It seemed that a contingent of men from the Lucian Alliance had captured an SG team whilst they were surveying some ancient ruins and were demanding nearly fifty kilograms of weapons grade Naquadah be delivered to an address of their choosing within the remaining twenty minute window of time in which they could keep the gate open. In exchange they promised to release their hostages unharmed when they left the planet via ship. It was a tidy plan, with both planets on the other side of the galaxy and hours away from any ship Earth could call upon and the active gate keeping them from sending a rescue team, it meant that either Stargate Command accede to their demands and hope they keep their word not to harm the SG team, or stand by and wait to witness what would assuredly be their comrade's deaths.

It was also the perfect opportunity he'd been waiting for; just the situation in which the SGC had no options and knew it, and he wasn't so impotent.

He considered allowing some time to pass for them to get desperate and therefore more likely to be grateful for his aid, however, he couldn't find it within himself to be so cruel, nor was he so ignorant of the past not to acknowledge the resourcefulness of the SGC's personnel and the possibility that if he waited too long they would find a solution of their own. Thus as Harry stepped forward to interject it was to find himself interrupting a rather heated debate on whether the United State's propaganda line of 'never negotiating with terrorists' held in this occasion; especially as there were non-US citizens on the team being held captive.

Clearing his throat loudly achieved barely a dismissive glance before they were arguing again, this time whether the IOA and the individual governments of each of the SG team's member's nationality needed to be contacted. There was more than a little bit of annoyance Harry had to suppress due to the response, so when he cleared his throat a second time it was with a not inconsiderable flex of his aura that even they, as mundanes, couldn't possibly ignore.

"It seems that you have no recourse to take at the moment and that this would perhaps be an opportune moment to consult your magically inclined allies to see if they have any possible aid to render." Harry said, the flat unimpressed light in his eyes unmistakable. Just because he could suppress the annoyance didn't mean he couldn't express it; though, it had come across the slightest bit more condescending than he'd meant.

Let it not be said, however, that General Landry isn't an intelligent man, because even if he clearly didn't appreciate the tone or wording he ignored that in favor of the implied assistance. "And _is_ there any aid that you could provide in this situation?" He asked.

Harry smiled, "Why certainly. If you can give me an accurate enough idea of just where this planet is in the galaxy, especially as related to Earth, I can see about retrieving your people. I'll also need as much information as you can give me about the conditions on the planet - like if it has a greater or lesser gravity or oxygen content in the atmosphere than Earth. That along with the image from the video should be enough to narrow down the location, especially with the gate's wormhole already pointing the way for me to follow."

More than one person questioned whether it was actually possible, but General Landry overrode their questions with the brief and simple command to provide Harry with whatever he needed.

o0O0o

They had been talking for a while, mostly just platitudes and nothing of significance, after Colonel Carter had left the room. Seth had to admit part of that was his fault, his mind was still swimming dizzily from all that he'd been told had was having a hard time focusing on making small talk, especially as the one topic that might have interested him enough to pay attention was off limits. Seth had, after all, resolved to himself not to bring _Him_ up now.

Still he'd kept up with the conversation and made sure not to embarrass himself, luckily he'd only had to keep afloat for a short time before Colonel Carter was returning. She strode into the room in a practiced rush that spoke of controlled urgency, and focused directly on the wizards. "We have a situation, and your friend said that he could help magically, I thought you may be able to aid him as we are under rather tight time constraints." There was a not so subtle demand in her words that Seth could hear, but paired with it was a hopeful entreaty that softened the command.

The wizards glanced between each other, conversing with looks in a way that spoke of familiarity, and then they were all up from their seats and moving to follow Colonel Carter back down to the control room. "What precisely is the situation Colonel Carter, and how has he gone about fixing it?" One of them asked, even as they were leaving the room.

Glancing around at the three people remaining in the room Seth barely had to try to see the same interest and curiosity reflected in their eyes and he felt himself. So in a maneuver that was half hop half launch he thrust himself from his seat and moved just slowly enough not to be running to catch up. _He was a wolf, not a cat, he'd be safe enough._ The sound of a pair of hurried footsteps behind him meant at least two of the others were following, and he wouldn't be surprised if he just wasn't able to hear the vampires soft footfalls.

"... He's told us that he can use magic to retrieve our people from the other side of the gate, but he didn't mention any specific method I could relate to you." Colonel Carter was saying over her shoulder as she began moving down a set of spiral stairs.

Seth couldn't see the wizard's expression, but the reply sounded slightly puzzled. "I have to admit that I'm not familiar with any method existing that he could use to pull your people through the gate to here. Forced apparition has been proven possible without skin contact, but never when not traveling with your target, and certainly not over the distances we're talking about."

Another wizard farther back in the procession laughed, "Yeah, but you're talking about the Basilisk! If anyone could actually do it, it's him."

Colonel Carter turned to face the wizards as she stepped off the bottom of the stairs and almost directly into the control room, "Basilisk?" She asked.

This time Seth did catch one of the wizards expressions, it was one of clear surprise and incredulity. "They didn't tell you who he was when he got the position to lead the team?" He said. "His war record is probably more impressive than all of your SG-1's combined! They called him the Basilisk because he was so damn fast, they said by the time you saw him you were already dead! He could do things with transportation and space-time magic that no one has ever done before."

"Or since," Pumeet added.

Seth was just reaching the bottom of the stairs and the conclusion that whoever this wizard was, he must have fought in the same war He had when he glanced about the room and locked eyes with familiar green.

His breath froze in his lungs, which no longer seemed capable of moving themselves and he felt more than a slight weakness in his extremities as he stared dizzily at someone he'd never thought he'd get the chance to see again.

o0O0o

He had never tried going so far away before, but distance really shouldn't affect the spell, he just had to make sure he had a lot more information about conditions around his destination, so that when he sought it out he didn't get the wrong place. When he normally used this spell he would always have a rather clear understanding of where it was in relation to his starting point, but looking for one specific place in a galaxy of planets would be a whole heck of a lot more difficult; it's why he asked for the details about the planet he did. Still Harry couldn't help but wish they had taken a few more minutes to get the answers to him before they expected him to perform his miracle, because now that he was thinking about the actual technicalities of the spell and process and not just the opportunity to impress and ingratiate himself, he was becoming more than slightly nervous.

Still even if he missed, he was confident he'd end up on a planet with a livable atmosphere and gravity well. Shaking off those thoughts Harry turned one last time to look at the representation of the galaxy they'd brought up on a terminal for him, featuring a pair of highlighted and labeled planets; Earth and P4Y - 332, respectively.

He was just getting ready to say something appropriately impressive and witty before making his elegant and - well _impressive_ - exit, when he heard Vastov speaking of the nom de guerre he'd been given. Harry looked up to give the boastful wizard a chastising glare and instead met the gaze of one Seth Clearwater. It had been years since he'd seen him and he'd filled out to the typical, ridiculous dimensions of all the other Quileute wolves, but his face was still unmistakably that of the boy he'd met in Forks, Washington.

"Uh, Mr. Potter, sir?" One of the gate technicians said tentatively some time later, the tempest of confusion, anger, annoyance, and even regret that had swept through him had left him speechless and motionless too long.

Harry wasn't sure how long exactly he'd been stuck staring at the boy, but knew it was far longer than he should have; it seemed most the room had witnessed the awkward moment and that was most certainly not what Harry wanted.

Straightening quickly Harry forced his turbulent thoughts into line and made certain not to show his embarrassed flush or any sign of being flustered as he locked eyes on his escape route and immediately took it.

o0O0o

More than one person in the room was startled as the wizard, leader of the magical contingent at Cheyenne Mountain, and current hope to save their stranded and hostage friends, Harry Potter, upped and vanished from the middle of the room.

**A/N Sorry this is later and shorter than I wanted, but it made a good stopping point/cliff hanger (and yes I know that is rather hypocritical of me as I always criticize putting cliff hangers in books) anyway, I figure it's better to post now than wait a few months to write the next few thousand words.**

**Good news for you readers though, you now have the opportunity to help motivate me to post sooner by reviewing!**


	20. Chapter Eighteen

"Where the _hell _did he just go!" General Landry nearly roared in the silence that followed the sudden disappearance of the wizard.

"Um, sir," One of the technicians piped up in a tone of nervous surprise, "He's there." He said, pointing at the screen that was even now showing the MALP's feed from P4Y - 332 - a feed that was clearly showing the bodies of almost a dozen Lucian Alliance thugs scattered about in pieces and a blank faced Harry Potter helping the hostages to their feet.

"Basilisk." Came the almost reverent whisper from one of the wizards in the back of the room, and despite the soft voice in which it had been spoken, the word easily reached all ears in the stunned silence that enveloped the room.

It wouldn't be until several seconds after Harry, _the Basilisk_, disappeared from the MALP's feed that people began to move around in the control room once more.

o0O0o

"You know they won't leave you alone now." Pumeet said from the door of his office. "You can hide here all you want, but you just showed them that you can travel to the other side of the galaxy on a whim and slaughter a force of well armed terrorists."

When Harry refused to respond or even turn towards his uninvited guest Pumeet let out an annoyed sigh. "I'm not sure if they are more terrified or impressed by what you did, but either way they're going to be coming demanding answers; and don't kid yourself and pretend that we didn't all notice that moment of tension between you and that soldier that precipitated all of this."

It happened faster than Pumeet had thought possible, one moment he was watching the hunched back of his supposed superior while on this mission, and the next he was stumbling back under the backlash of having his personal wards shattered. It wasn't a brute force attack that simply overpowered them, or even one of subtle trickery that slips past the wards, but one that found each and every weak point and seized hold and twisted. It was an attack that told Pumeet that, had he wanted to, his superior could have stopped his heart in his chest without touching his wards, or spread little chunks of Pumeet all over the hall after brushing the wards aside as casually as had just been done.

And the most terrifying part, was that he had never looked up from his desk.

Deciding it was advisable to play to the better part of valor, Pumeet Patil silently turned and fled to his own office once he regained his balance. He could file a few papers and then leave the base for the rest of the day.

Or, you know, the rest of the week.

o0O0o

Henry Hayes, President and all around pretty decent guy, had to take several moments to reevaluate someone he thought he had had a pretty good handle on. He'd always been a good judge of character, a rather vital attribute for politicians to have if they want to survive; particularly the honest-ish ones.

So to have his suppositions of Harry James Potter, so blatantly brushed aside and made inconsequential was very nearly distressing. What truly was disturbing and distressing, though, was the video he was watching, one in which the wizard arrived on scene and set about exterminating his opposition with what looked almost like a ribbon of the sort performers would wave about with little weights tied to the end. The only difference was that this ribbon seemed to twist and direct itself with a mind of its own and wherever it met flesh, it parted it. If it weren't for the dying and blood and other grizzly bits, it could almost have been elegant, instead it was just stomach turning.

Henry raised the remote and paused the video with what he was relieved to see was a steady hand. Unfortunately, the video stopped at a rather inopportune moment, showing the ribbon of magic, or whatever it was, about to plunge into someone's heart having just left behind a body completely dismembered but only having fallen half of the distance to the ground so far. Henry grimaced at the gruesome image and turned the tv fully off. Certainly there was a lot he had to think about now, and someone he needed to completely reassess. In the mean time he'd see about calling the British Prime Minister and their Magical Minister and see if he couldn't get his hands on more information about Mr. Potter to make his assessment.

o0O0o

Samantha Carter was not a hesitant woman, she was not a nervous woman, and she most certainly was not a shy woman. So it was a most unusual moment when she found herself standing outside a closed door and struggling to find the nerve to knock. Releasing a frustrated breath Sam squared her shoulders and rapped sharply, three times.

She had already tried to confront Mr. Potter, but on her way to the wizard's office she had been met by Pumeet Patil on his way out, and been told in no uncertain terms that it wasn't the right time. She would have ignored the warning - certainly _she_ wouldn't be barred from parts of the SGC - but there had been something in the wizard's eyes when he'd delivered his message that had convinced her to heed him anyway. So instead she went to what seemed to be the next best option for information about just what exactly had happened earlier in the day.

It took only a second before the door was open and she had to lean back slightly to meet Lieutenant Seth Clearwater's brightly burning eyes, a good nine inches above the top of her own head. Despite the unnerving light in his eyes, Carter would not be turned aside a second time, she _would_ get to the bottom of whatever it was that was happening on the base; she may not be the General, but when there were people as dangerous, and apparently violent, as Harry Potter being given free reign she needed to make certain she was prepared. And if it came down to it, she would protect her friends, her family, and her world in whatever way necessary - as she always had.

So with a deep, indrawn breath to steady herself, Carter spoke in her sternest and most confident manner, "If you have time Lieutenant, I would like to ask you a few questions."

o0O0o

Seth was laying back on the bunk he'd been provided on base, staring at the ceiling in a sort of dazed silence. Apparently he wouldn't have to go asking vague questions about wizarding wars of the wizards on base in hopes of learning any small tidbits about _Him_. Seth wouldn't have to do anything like that, because _He_ was here, Harry was here. More than five years he hadn't seen so much as a spark of magic, let alone a wizard, and then today his world is turned upside down, first upon learning of the stargate, second upon laying eyes on the wizard that had never strayed too far from his thoughts in all the time he had been missing, and finally a third time as he watched the same man casually slaughter human beings. Admittedly not very nice people, though. It wasn't the killing that had taken him by surprise, really, after all he was a soldier himself too now. He wanted to say it was the ease with which it had been done that disturbed him. That it was the casual indifference Harry displayed at turning a dozen men into scattered meat - and there _was _a small part of him that was disturbed; the part that watched kids cartoons, listened as his mother told him to turn the other cheek, and was told day in and day out by society that every life was precious - that was horrified by such careless disregard for life. But what had truly disturbed him was the animal arousal and hunger the sight had inspired in him. It wasn't the violence that caught the wolf's attention but the sheer strength, the instinct that said _protection, safe, secure_.

In the years he hadn't transformed the little voice in his mind that was more wolf than human had slowly been fading, growing quieter and more indifferent to the world. Seeing Harry had woken that voice with a vengeance. He wasn't sure what to make of it all; if he would even have the opportunity to make anything of it at all before Harry disappeared again. And yet despite the howling in the back of his mind that was afraid that tomorrow Harry would have vanished a second time, there was a stronger, human part of him, that just couldn't deal with it at the moment. A part of him that hoped Harry would be gone tomorrow, because as miserable as having his wolf pine after the wizard for years on end had been - it was _simple_ and he didn't have to worry about becoming even more invested than he had all those years ago.

So instead he laid back on the bunk he'd been provided and stared at the ceiling. He'd like to say it was in contemplative silence, but really his mind hadn't been able to settle on any single thought long enough to produce any conclusions, let alone meaningful or necessary ones.

It was just as his thoughts had circled back to the refrain, _He's here,_ when he was roused from his stupor by a sharp rapping at his door. Perhaps it was that he had just been thinking of him, or perhaps it would have been so even if he hadn't, but as Seth very nearly dashed to his door he was utterly certain who would be on the other side of it.

So when it opened to show Colonel Carter and not Harry Potter the sudden, rushing furious disappointment had him incapable of truly listening or caring what his superior officer said. Instead, in a moment of clarity he wished he had had hours ago, Seth knew that he could not let Harry Potter vanish from his life again. He could not wait for Harry to come to him, he could not spend the rest of the day terrified into inaction by the thought that Harry would leave again. So instead he would go to his wizard, and he would make him see reason, make him listen. After all, he'd had years to perfect his arguments - years to hash and rehash his memories of Harry and those last days of childhood. He would do his damndest to get his mate, and if tomorrow Harry was gone it wouldn't be because he had hid in bed.

Seth never noticed the baffled and irritated Colonel he left in the corridor behind him as he set off determinedly.

o0O0o

**A/N Okay, so mostly just reactions and consequences of last chapter. Quite short but I like this as a place to stop. Also I love Carter, but I felt almost as if she comes across as slightly entitled in this. Tell me what you think!**


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